The World As We Forgot It
by TheClassicCrime1
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT! Lina Foster is back in Narnia, this time during the Voyage of the Dawn Treader and without any memory of being there before...or so she believes. Will she remember her love for Edmund? Or will it all be too much for her?
1. The Heart Brings You Back

**Hello, dear readers! Welcome to The World As We Forgot It! This fic is a sequel to Lina's first story, The World As We Knew It, and focuses on her journey, along with Edmund, Eustace, Lucy, and Caspian, aboard the Dawn Treader. It is about a year after her first trip to Narnia and she has no memory-or does she?-of the trip. So, I hope you like it! **

***Oh, for those of you who don't already know, I can never write only one story at a time or else I will be too concentrated on it and, in the end, resent it. So, I have decided to write a Hunger Games fic, as well. It'll an AU where the rebels actually go through with making the Capital children fight in their own Hunger Games and the main character will be President Snow's granddaughter. If that is something you would be interested in check out my page in the next few or so and the first chapter should be up! **

**And I have rambled too much…Sorry!**

**Here we go!**

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I, Carolina Elizabeth Foster, can do this.

I have been through much worse in my life than this measly little thing…okay, so I can't necessarily think of anything worse than this at the moment but there had to be something more terrifying I have faced, right?

A deep breath runs through me as I stand at the edge and gaze down at the pit of death, as I like to call it. My hands tense and then release, only to do it all over again the next second; my knees were shaking as if they thought this would be the last thing I would ever be doing in my life.

"Just do it." I coach myself. "The longer you wait, the more time you have to back out. It's now or never, Lina."

I take another deep breath and shake out my arms one last time.

Now or never, right?

The next thing I know, I am putting all of my power into my legs, letting them force themselves against the diving board beneath my feet. I am thrown through the air, moving my body into a sharp knifelike shape with my arms readying to slice through the water. The one second that I am in the air feels like a lifetime as I wait to make contact with the water.

The second is over and my arms crash through the surface, followed by the rest of my body. My arms start pushing, propelling me through the water. I keep my head under until I feel the need to take a breath. Under my arms I allow my face to leave for only a second, enough time to get a lungful of air, before I push on down the length of the pool.

I make it to the end, tap it, and flip around to swim back to the other side. I do this fifteen more times before allowing myself to stop and take a break. Hanging on the edge of the pool, I remove my goggles and rest my chin on the tile pool deck. As I take a deep breath, looking around to see that I was absolutely alone, I allow myself a large smile.

This is it. This is what I have been working towards for the last year.

For as long as I can remember, I have been terrified of the water; but for some reason, around the time of my sixteenth birthday, I felt the need to make a change in my life. I wanted to stop being the timid girl that everyone ignored; I wanted to stop feeling like I didn't matter; I wanted to stop being scared. That was when I decided to start taking swimming lessons in order to face my fears. Everything after that started to fall into place, I guess.

I started to make more friends, realizing that I didn't need to fear getting close to people. I took up archery and horseback riding lessons outside of the city. In all honesty, I'm not sure what these activities helped me accomplish except for relaxing my nerves. It was calming to be outside of New York City, away from the hustle and bustle that went along with it. I was trying new things. Heck, I even got a tattoo; something the old Lina would never have even dreamed of.

The only thing that hadn't changed? My parents.

They still ignored, more so now because I was an "adult who did not need to be hovered over". But I didn't mind their pretending I didn't exist because, unlike them, I did change. I know now that I was not the reason they were like this; I didn't do anything wrong. They are just selfish and that was something I had to learn to accept about my parents.

I only had this one year left of high school and then I would be off to college, breathing in the fresh New Haven air at Yale University. Yes, in the fall I would be out of this place and my future would be beginning.

I pulled myself out of the pool and went over to the abandoned plastic table to grab my towel and dry off. I throw my swimsuit cover-up on followed by a pair of flip-flops before heading out of the pool area and walking into the lobby of my apartment building. The concierge, an older man with white hair named Carl, who had been working at the building since as long as I can remember, nods to me in greeting. "How'd it go, Miss Foster?"

I smile at him. "Pretty good, thanks." I wave once to say goodbye, then I head over to the elevator and press the bottom to go up.

The doors slide open a moment later, revealing a boy, probably a year or two old than me, talking on his cell phone. The cute blonde boy looks at me and grins before allowing me on to the elevator and then exiting himself. He stares at me for a second longer before the doors close, leaving me along and moving upwards towards the penthouse. I can't help but chuckle a little bit, thinking how great this day was actually turning out to be.

I watch as the elevator speeds through floor after floor until the penthouse floor lights up, accompanied by a quiet ding. The doors opens before me and I began to step out when I realize that my mother is standing right in front of me; her arms are crossed and she tapps her foot, not really a good sign.

I raise an eyebrow at her, confused. "What?"

"Do not talk to me like that. I am your mother and you will speak to me with respect." She says, pausing for dramatic effect. "Where have you been?"

This was a really weird question. My mother never asks me where I was. She has never cared before. I wrinkle my forehead in even more confusion. "At the pool?"

"You don't swim, Carolina." She snaps back at me.

"I have been taking lessons for a year now, mom."

"Oh, really?" She says, now raising her eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, really. You should know, mom, you have been paying for the lessons." I say as I start to walk past her. My day that had just been going so well was turning sour fast. "Was there something you wanted, mother?"

"I just wanted to tell you that your father and I will be out of town for a while. We are taking a cruise to Tahiti...We leave tonight." She says as she follows me down the hall and into the kitchen where I grab myself a bottle of water. "You'll be expected to take care of yourself while we are gone, meaning don't bother your grandmother with your usual nonsense."

My usual nonsense? The last thing I asked of my grandmother when my parents were gone was for her to sign a permission slip so I could go on a field trip with the rest of my classmates. I want to explain this to my mother but knew it would do no good, only add to her dislike of my so-called pettiness. "Okay," I say instead, wishing I were able to argue but not really seeing the point of it.

My mother nods firmly before turning and stomping back down the hall and into the awaiting elevator. She looks at me until the doors close, leaving me along yet again. "Nice chatting with you!" I yell at the elevator when she's gone.

I set my water bottle down before going up the stairs to the second floor where my room resides-with a great view overlooking Central Park, my favorite aspect of it-and threw my towel on a ridiculous pink and ruffled bedspread that covered my mattress. In fact, it isn't just my bedspread that looks like a unicorn threw up on it but my entire room. My mother's sick joke, unfortunately.

The upside, I suppose, is that I have a private bathroom. Like I said, I am the new Lina and she tries to find the positives through all the negatives…well, at least she's trying to. In the bathroom, I turn on the water in the bathtub, which falls from the ceiling, and it begins to fill slowly. I go over to the sink and look at my blonde curls that are starting to dry already. My green eyes, I notice, stand out in contrast to my very pale skin thanks to a lack of outdoor activity during the winter months. I assume that is why my parents are leaving the city, in search of some sun. Hopefully they will not be so grumpy when they return; I read somewhere that the sun is nature's own little form of antidepressant and trust me my parents need that.

I take my brush to my tangled hair and start smoothing it out slightly so it would be easier to wash. I have about half of my head done when I feel water pool around my feet.

"What the-?"

I look down to see that an inch of water was covering my bathroom floor already. My head spins to look at the tub and I realize that the tub is overflowing. But that is impossible. I only started to fill it a minute ago.

Quickly, I rush over and turn the nob off, signaling the water to stop filling from ceiling but it still comes down in a little waterfall. A sigh escaped my lips as I rush over to the door, ready to find the housekeeper but my door is stuck and unmoving.

My forehead wrinkled up, as I grew more confused and panicked. I have overcome many fears in the last year but enclosed spaces were not one of them for some reason. Now that I think about it, I never actually had a problem with them until the last year, strangely enough, but now is not the time to think on that.

I bang on the door. "Help! Melinda? Help me, I'm up here!" I call for the maid but she does not come. Slowly, I turn around and notice that the water is up to my knees now and still growing higher and higher.

My panic grows as I press myself against the door, hoping that by some miracle it will open. "What's happening?" I shout over the loud rush of water that is now above my waist. My breath is coming in loud pants and I feel on the brink of an anxiety attack but I don't let myself freak out now. The old Lina would have been freaking out but not the new one.

The water is now at my shoulders and has swept me off my feet, pulling everything in the bathroom, including me, which was not bolted down, up towards the ceiling. I dogpaddle, keeping myself up for as long as I can until my head starts hitting the ceiling, then I feel myself being tugged under the water until my butt hits the tiled floor.

I sit there a moment, looking around at the scene of my underwater bathroom. What is going on? Am I drowning, dying? Am I going crazy?

One thing is for sure: I am not going to sit underwater and try to figure it out. I press my feet against the floor and push off, propelling myself up to where I am hoping I will still be able to breath by the ceiling. I expect to hit the top of the room seconds later but I am still pushing myself up towards the surface. My eyes make contact with some kind of light above me.

For a second I believe it is the 'tunnel of light' that you see when you die but that thought dies a second later as the water around me begins to change. No longer was it faucet water but salty and stinging my eyes. My lungs began to burn as I continue upwards and I am not sure how much longer I can continue. My arms keep clawing upwards, hoping to find the surface soon. Just when I am about to call it quits my hands break the surface followed by my head and shoulders. My lungs greedily take in air and I wipe salt water from my eye; I open them against just in time to get hit by a huge wave that pulls me under the surface again for a few seconds.

I fight it, trying to find air again, but it is no use. The swirls of water around me don't even allow for me to know which way is up anymore. Just when I think my day turned from great to worse than humanly possible—I mean, come on, who has to worry about drowning in their _bathroom_, instead of their bathtub-I feel an arm go around my waist and start pushing me towards the surface. I help with one hand while the other stays securely around the mysterious person's shoulders.

Seconds later we reach the surface and I take another greedy breath, trying to expel water from my lungs and get air at the same time. Again, I wipe the burning salt water from my eyes and look to see who has their hold on me.

It's a man, perhaps in his mid-twenties with shoulder length brown hair. He looks at me with amazing brown eyes and smiles between the deep breaths he is taking as well. "It is alright, my lady. I have you."

I nod to him. "That's great and all but where did you come from?"

The man takes his free hand and points past me. I turn my head and see a large wooden ship, like something right out of Pirates of the Caribbean or some other pirate movie. "Wow," I say, wondering when my parents had all of this installed in my bathroom.

The man chuckles at my amusement. "Come on, they will pull us aboard," He explains as he begins to swim us both closer to the ship. As we venture closer to the side, I see two men lower a board strapped between two ropes that will act a platform to raise us up. The man makes it to the board quickly despite the extra weight that is my body, and grabs onto the ropes. "Stand up and grab onto this rope," He tells me, shaking the one he wanted me to hang on to. I do as instructed before he gets on the board as well, wrapping one hand on the rope closest to him and the other wrapped around my waist to grab the one that I am clutching. "Hang on tight," the man says and the next thing I know we are being pulled up, out of the water, and through the air until we make it to the top deck of the ship.

The same two men who threw the board over come to pull us onto the deck. One extends his hand to help me down and the other wraps a blanket around my shoulders.

I stand where I landed, staring at the dozens of men and…my eyes must be playing tricks on me because I see more than men but also beasts and mythical creatures that I recognized from my Greek mythology class. The man who pulled me out of the water jumps down from the board, landing next to me, and making me jump. My eyes go from him to the rest of the men, and creatures, on board and then back again.

"Where am I?" I ask, my eyes still wandering.

"My lady, you are on the Dawn Treader, in the ocean near the Lone Islands." The man who rescued me says in a voice I now realize holds a very heavy Spanish. I stare at the man for a moment longer, trying to decide if he is the crazy one or if I am. The man is very handsome, I conclude, tall and muscular, with very trustworthy eyes that I had already noticed while in the water. He wouldn't be lying to me. What would he have to gain from it, right?

"And where exactly is that?" I look around the ocean again, seeing if I can spot the landscape of Manhattan, maybe, or any of the other islands. "Are we off the coast of New York or something?"

"New York?" The man asks, sounding very confused himself now. "No, off the coast of Narnia, my lady."

I raise an eyebrow. "Is Narnia a city?"

The man raises an eyebrow right back at me, looking at his comrades for help. "Narnia is a country…"

When he spoke those words a quick flash of a blonde boy, probably nineteen years old, dressed in medieval clothing appeared in my memory. The two of us were in a clearing surrounded by trees; there was a white horse nearby. The man just stared at me with the same confused look that my rescuer was; just like that the memory ended.

I shake my head, trying to decide what is real and what is fake.

"Miss?" The man who just saved my life said, pulling me into reality—well, this reality, at least- by putting a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

I look up at him and shake my head. "I-I don't know where I am. I-I don't know who you are."

The man sighed before putting an arm around my shoulders and leading me towards the back of a ship in the general direction of a room, I'm assuming to be the captain's quarters but, once again, everything I know about ships comes from Disney movies. The man opens the double doors before us, revealing a bedroom of sorts that seems to also act as a place for navigation since there are maps spread out everywhere. "Please, sit," he instructs as he closes the doors behind us. The man ushers me over to the table with the maps and pulls out a chair for me to sit in. I thank him quickly as he moves to lean against the table in front of me. He smiles at me; I can't help but think he has a really nice smile even though this is hardly the time or place. "Do not be afraid. I will not harm you."

"Oh, I didn't think you were going to," I admit. "I mean, if you wanted to hurt me, you could have left me out in the water to drown, right?"

The man laughs, nodding the whole while. "That is very true." He pauses. "My name is Caspian, by the way. May I know yours?"

"Lina," I say.

"Lina," Caspian repeats slowly as if it is the strangest name in the world…yeah, I suppose it isn't the best name I've ever heard in my life but he really doesn't have room to talk with his odd name either…and that is a very rude thought for me to think considering he just saved my life. I feel bad for a second. Who am I to judge him? "I like it," he says, pulling me from my rambling thoughts. "Well, Lina I gather that you are not from this world, is that correct?"

I bite my lip as I look around the room that I am in. There is no way that I am still in my bathroom, that is for sure, but to not even be on Earth? That seems a little extreme to start thinking. "I honestly don't know." I say before putting my head in my hands. "I am kind of thinking this is all a bizarre dream that I will wake up from any minute now." I look up at Caspian who gives me a small, sympathetic smile. "I'm sure I just fell asleep in the tub. That is probably it."

Caspian looks away for a second, studying a case that stands at the front of the room. It is filled with weapons like swords and bows with arrows. He continues to stare at it like he is trying to figure something out before finally looking away from it and kneeling down to gaze straight into my eyes. "Lina, have you ever heard of a place called England?"

I nod. "Sure, I have…is that where we are?"

The man shakes his head. "No, but I have some friends that live there…" He rubs his hand over his face, making me realize for the first time that he really made scruffy facial hair look cute, before meeting my eyes again. "Lina, I do not know how to tell you this in a way you will understand but you are no longer in your world…you are in mine…you have been transported here."

I stare at Caspian for a moment, wondering again whether I am the crazy one or if he is. I stand up, walk away from the table, and go over to the small window on the other side of the room. The ocean outside is blue and expands as far as the eye can see; there is no way that I have come from New York City. I am not even close to my home now, but how is this possible?

"And how exactly do you think I have been transported here?" I say, turning back to look at him. Caspian is now standing again but staying close to the table, probably as an attempt to keep me from freaking out, I suspect.

"By magic." He says with a slight shrug of his shoulders, like it is something that happens everyday here.

I cross my arms, wrapping the blanket more tightly around my shoulders. "Magic?" I question. "Whose magic?"

Caspian purses his lips, looking around the room as if in search of something, before finally taking steps away from the wooden map table and going over to point to shield that was within the weapons cabinet. The shield, I noticed, bore a very familiar crest on it, making chills run down my spine. "His. Aslan, the Great Lion's magic."

My mouth falls open slightly as I walk over to inspect the shield also. It is a gold shield with the profile of a red, standing lion, seemingly medieval, on it. Instinctively, my hand goes to the back of my neck, touching the place where my tattoo—the one that matches this crest exactly—resides. I scan the shield again but the crest is still identical to my tattoo, an exact counterpart. This cannot be possible.

"What is the matter?" Caspian asks me.

I look over at him, still in shock. "I-I have a tattoo that matches this." I say before turning my back to him and lifting my blond curls to let him see. I hear the floorboards creak as he takes a step closer to me in order to examine it; I feel his hand go up, barely grazing my skin, before pulling his hand back.

"May I?" He asks, earning a nod from me that tells him it is all right.

His thumb traces the small tattoo, making sure it was real, before his hand drops again. I let my curls fall back around my shoulders before turning around to meet his awaiting gaze. "What does this mean?" I ask Caspian.

The man shakes his head, just as mesmerized by the situation as I was. "Your mark, the one on your neck, I believe it means that you are one of us, a Narnian." He pauses to smile. "I think you are supposed to be here, Lina. You have a purpose in this world."

"Which is…?" I question, hoping that he has an answer for me. I am now starting to believe that I am truly off my planet and thrown on to another one; the only question is what am I supposed to do now that I am here?

"That's for you to find out, Lina," Caspian says, before looking me over. "Now, since you are going to be staying with us, I think we better find you something to wear, yes?" He walks away from me and goes over to a wardrobe close to the bed.

I look down at myself to see that I am still in my swimsuit and cover-up from the pool. Wow, was it really only today that I went swimming in something other than the ocean?

Caspian comes back to me with an armful of clothing. "They will be big but at least they will be dry and warm."

"Thank you," I say as I put the blanket down and clutch the cloths close to me with both arms.

Caspian nods before going back to the wardrobe and pulling more clothing, probably for himself this time. "I will let you have my quarters," he says, turning back to look at me now that he has his things and is ready to leave. "I can sleep below deck with the rest of the men."

"Oh, no. Don't do that, please. I don't want to be a burden...I mean, you already saved my life today. The least I can do is let you keep your own space," I tell him, now starting to feel bad because I was kicking him out of his room.

"Nonsense," He says with a smile. "It is my pleasure, Lina, truly." Caspian goes over to the doors and pushes one open. "When you are done changing, why don't you join me on the deck and I will introduce you to the rest of the crew?"

I nod and he does the same in response. He is just about to leave when I call out his name, remembering that I need to tell him something. "Caspian?"

He stops and looks back at me.

"Thank you…for saving my life, for the clothes. Everything."

Caspian smiles once again. He has a really pretty smile, I decide. I like it. "It is no trouble at all, Lina. Welcome aboard the Dawn Treader."

With those words, he left me alone in the Captain's quarters…of a ship…in the middle of an ocean…in a world I never knew existed…with a bunch of men and mythical creatures…

I fall to the bed and take a deep breath, wondering if mother would consider this situation to be part of my usual nonsense. To the old Lina, it might have been ridiculous nonsense; but the new Lina, the one who swims, does archery, and has a tattoo, she looks at the nonsense and tries to see where it will take her.

I don't know what brought me here. I don't know why I have a connection—whether it is memory flashes or strange symbol similarities—to this place. But I was here, in an ocean off the coast of Narnia, near the Lone Islands, and I plan on finding out. That much you can bet on.

Quickly, I change my clothes, sporting a pair of men's tan pants and a black button-down tunic, before leaving the safety of the Captain's quarters and into the bright sun to embrace this strange turn of events in my life.

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**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please let me know your thoughts/opinions! In the next chapter we will be meeting the Pevensies and Eustace, just an FYI. Thank you so much for reading! **


	2. From The Depths of Dreams

**Hey guys! Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy it!**

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The warm sea breeze brings mists of salt water across my face as I stand at the edge of the Dawn Treader and gaze down at the mermaids below me. They, strangely enough, didn't look as I expected them to. It seems like the mermaids are actually made of water, not of actual flesh and bone. I asked Caspian about the creatures when I first saw them and he told me that it was magic, just like everything else in this world.

I have been in the world of Narnia for a week now and have yet to be bored while on the ship. There are so many things to learn and explore even in such a small space. A few hours after I arrived, for example, I learned that Caspian was a king. He never told me this and I was so embarrassed when I found out because, well, I had just taken over a king's quarters. I suddenly felt very small and disrespectful to the King of Narnia.

And he still insists that I have nothing to be sorry for or to be embarrassed about; he was a person, first, and then a king. To me, the king insists, that he is Caspian and that is that.

So, under the king's orders, I call him Caspian.

Besides that entire struggle, I have gotten to know the crew on the ship. They have been teaching me to work on the ship, doing everything from manning the sails, which I am awful at, to navigating with the stars and winds. Though most of them are human, there are some who are mythical creatures, like—what was he called again?—a minotaur, and then there are also talking animals like a huge mouse named Reepicheep. It is still completely strange for me to talk to creatures that I didn't even realize existed but they are really amazing.

Reepicheep has been working with me on my sword fighting skills, which really aren't as bad as I thought they would be, so that I can try my hand with Caspian who is the undefeated sparing champion on the ship.

We all know I will never beat him in a million years but I think Reepicheep likes the idea of teaching someone to do something he loves so much. And I don't mind him teaching me because there is a possibility that I will need to use these skills at some point during this journey. As weird as it seems to be, there is the chance that enemies of Narnia will attack us either on land or on the ship. This whole idea scares me; the biggest attack I have ever had to deal with was a sample sale at Bergdorf's and these were just women with credit cards, not pirates and thugs with weapons.

But besides the threat of danger everything about this bizarre journey is exciting and new; it is something the new Lina loves very much.

"How are you doing?" Caspian asks as he comes to stand next to me and lean against the railing of the ship.

I eye the king before nodding. "Pretty great. How about you?"

The man smiles in return. "Very well. We are making progress and should arrive at the Lone Islands within the next day or so depending on the winds."

"That sounds amazing." I tell him, thankful that we will soon be on land. Despite how well I am doing on the ship I still remain uneasy at times while in the water. Yes, I can swim in a pool but the ocean has already taken me down once and I am back to being slightly scared—or terrified, whatever—of the bright blue waters under me. "Do you think you will find the Lords there?"

Caspian shrugs before looking out to the water. "I truly hope so…it just seems like it would be too easy if they were all there, don't you agree?"

I purse my lips, thinking his question over for a second before wrinkling my nose in disagreement and shaking my head. "No, sometimes things are that easy; I don't think I would want to question it if it was. Life's complicated enough without making the simple things harder than they need to be."

The king looks back over at me with a look of slight curiosity in his eye. I wonder why his is observing me like this, thinking there must be something in my teeth or that my hair is even more of a crazy mass than I think it is.

"What is it?" I ask, feeling slightly self-conscious now.

Caspian shakes his head, as if snapping out of his thoughts, before speaking. "Oh, it's nothing just…that was a very nice way to look at the whole situation. You are a very positive person, Lina, I admire that."

I can not help but chuckle when he says that about me. "I'm really not that optimistic, to be honest." I pause to shrug. "I just don't see the point on looking at a situation in a bad light when there is so much bad in the world already."

"Well, that seems a lot less positive when you say it like that, now doesn't it?"

I laugh, so does Caspian, before I nod and tell him that he was right. The two of us laugh for a moment more before I hear a crewman yell something from the other side of the ship. Instantly, Caspian and I quit giggling, and run over to the man. Most of the crew joins us to see what the man is pointing at in the water. I wrinkle my forehead as I try to focus in on what I see below.

"Are there people down there?" I ask, looking to Caspian.

The king looks to the water once more before looking back at me with a startled expression. Quickly, he steps back and removes his leather vest, handing it to me. He smiles. "I'll be right back."

The next thing I know Caspian is diving into the water and swimming towards the smallest of the three figures in the deep blue ocean. This is when I notice that two of the other sailors have now made it into the water and start making way towards the two other people, one of which looks as if they are having a panic attack.

"Do you think they are okay?" I ask Reepicheep, who had snuck up beside me while I was watching the water. The men make it over to the two figures but stop once they realize that they are swimming fine on their own. My eyes then go to Caspian and see that he is already next to the Dawn Treader with what appeared to be a young teenage girl.

"I am sure they are more than okay, Miss Lina," The mouse says to me, pausing to smile—well, it looks like a smile but I'm not sure mice can do that—in my direction. "For these are two of the Kings and Queens of Old and they have returned home."

The Kings and Queens of Old? I want to question the mouse but have no time because the plank was already rising, bringing with it Caspian and the girl. I rush over to a man carrying two blankets and take the top one from him before going back over to the edge of the ship and wait for the pair to make it up to us. It only takes a second for the dripping wet pair to make an appearance and be helped onto the deck. I go over to the girl and wrap the blanket around her shoulders. "Are you alright? Don't worry, I've been through this already and it doesn't take long for the shock of it all to wear off." I say, taking a second to study her as she steadies herself.

The girl is about fifteen years old with long auburn hair and a freckled face. She looks sweet, friendly, like someone I wouldn't mind hanging around with because she puts everyone around her in a good mood. The girl smiles as she wraps her arms around the blanket to take it from my grasp. "Oh, I'm fine, I-" She loses her words when her blue eyes meet my green ones.

Her mouth hangs open for a moment as she continues to stare and I can't help but wonder if she is feeling some effects from the ordeal she has just gone through.

"Lucy? What is it?" Caspian says, now coming up to us after helping the next round of passengers onto the ship.

The girl shakes her head once before closing her mouth and trying to speak again. "You're-"

"Lina?"

I turn my attention from the girl to look at a boy that stood behind her. He looks to be about my age with dark hair and bright blue eyes, same as the girls. The boy was definitely handsome but not in the way that you would find obvious; he was weathered, older, wiser than someone his age should be. Whatever happened to him in his life has left him aged. The next thing I know he is walking towards me, staring me down almost. The boy stops in front of me and looks me over. "Lina," He whispers my name and I can't do anything but stare right back at him the whole while. "It is you, isn't it?"

He reaches his hand out, as if to touch my check, and that is when I spring into action. I smack his hand away from me and take an instinctive step back, right into Caspian's chest. I jump slightly and look back at him for a second before returning my gaze to the boy. My head tilts as I study his now confused face. "I'm-I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The boy's face grows even more confused at my words before falling into something that looks like despair. Instantly, I get another flash. This time I saw a boy—the same one who stood before me-mounted on a horse, looking regal and, well, rather conceited. But I know better. This isn't conceit that he is feeling but weariness and pain. The next instant the flash is gone.

I shake my head to clear it.

Just then, another boy comes up onto the deck; but this one was not at all like the first. He screams bloody murder, saying he wants to go back to England and that he is going to charge us all with kidnapping. This boy, probably around the same age as the first, holds a crazed look in his eye as he takes in the Dawn Treader. His eyes land on my confused expression and me then he charges. "Oh, thank goodness! A sane person!" He grabs my shoulders and shakes me slightly. I don't really feel threatened because, for one, he was shorter than me, and also because he seems like a pansy…I can take him if necessary. "Do you know how to get off this devil ship? Speak to me!"

"Hands off the girl, got it?" Caspian says, taking the boy by the arm and throwing him backwards. He stumbles a second before running into the Minotaur; the boy spins, sees the creature, and faints. Okay, so to his defense I will say that he passed out…I hear that boys don't actually 'faint', only girls do.

The boy lies there in the middle of the deck and everyone seems content enough to leave him. I shrug before turning back to see that the dark-haired guy is staring at me again.

"Lina, do you not remember me?" He asks, sounding desperate.

I purse my lips as I focus on his features, trying to recognize something but besides that weird flash I can't place him from anywhere. I shake my head slowly. "No, how do you know my name?"

"Because we know you." The girl, whom Caspian identified as Lucy, explains. She seems sad, just like the boy does, and I truly wish I remembered them just to make the pair feel better.

"Do I know you?" I ask with a raised eyebrow, turning my eyes to Caspian who is now at my side with the same confused look that I was wearing.

The boy in front of me nods. "I'm Edmund Pevensie, Lina. We…have met before."

Pevensie…Pevensie…I know that name from somewhere but I can't place it…Pevensie…Edmund…

And that's when it hits me. I have met and Edmund Pevensie before, a long time ago. "You aren't Edmund Pevensie…Edmund Pevensie is an old man."

Edmund tilts his head at me. "What are you talking about?"

"Edmund Pevensie was an old man who randomly showed up to my fourteenth birthday party spewing some story about…" I trail off, now remembering what that story was about. "About Narnia…"

"Let's take this discussion somewhere a little more private, yes?" Caspian suggests before turning to me. "Lina, do you mind if we use your cabin?"

I shake my head while my eyes stay focused on Edmund. "No, of course that is fine." My eyes finally go over to Caspian who nods, extending his arm in a silent gesture that is meant to lead us all towards the Captain's quarters.

I go first, showing the way for our two guests, followed by Edmund, Lucy, and then Caspian. The double doors swing open, revealing a room that really hasn't changed much since I have invaded it. It isn't like I have any of my things here so the maps still lay on the table and the weapons are still in the cases along with the shield bearing the lion that matches my tattoo. I walk in quickly, making sure that everything is in a neat order…well, at least the bed is made.

The three others make it into the room and Caspian closes the doors. The king spins to look at the three of us. "Now, can someone please tell me how the three of you know each other."

"I'd like to know that myself." I say honestly, rubbing my arm as an attempt to, I guess, just do something besides stand awkwardly with two people who apparently know me but I have no memory of.

Edmund was still staring at me so it is up to Lucy to speak. "Edmund and I know Lina, quite well actually, from our rein in Narnia during the Golden Age." Lucy explains but I am still confused because I have no idea what a Golden Age is or how these kids would have ruled Narnia years ago when they are still so young. "All four of us Pevensies were hunting the white stag when Peter found Lina at Lantern Waste. We brought her back to Cair Paravel and she stayed with us for about a month until…" The girl looks down biting her lower lip like something awful had happened. I am hanging on her every word by this point, learning about a part of my life that may or may not have happened, and desperately want her to continue.

"Until?" I ask with a slight tremor in my voice.

Lucy looks up at me, opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by Edmund, who I now realized is her brother. "Until we went to Tashbaan and you were kidnapped by Prince Rabadash."

It's this last statement that makes me tilt my head in confusion. A prince kidnapped me? Why would he do that?

"Wait a minute…" Caspian cuts in, coming closer to us with one hand rubbing his mouth as if he is thinking very hard. He stops, looks at me, and then looks to Edmund. "Are you telling me she is the girl from the legend? The one who brings down the Calormen Empire?"

Okay, now this is just getting ridiculous. I throw my hands up and scoff. "Caspian, you cannot actually believe that I am this girl they are talking about? It has to be a mistake. I couldn't bring down at entire empire when I can't even bring down an AP physics test. I mean this is absolutely insane."

"You did bring down an empire, Lina." Edmund says.

"Then why don't I remember it!" I yell. "Why don't I remember any of it or the two of you, for that matter?" I sigh.

"You did remember, Lina." Caspian says, calling my attention to him now. He is standing over by the weapons cabinet, directing my attention to the shield. "Maybe not consciously but some part of you remembers Narnia."

"What are you talking about?" Edmund asks the king.

Caspian looks to me and sets me with a look that says I need to show him my tattoo. I sigh before turning my back to the boy and lifting my curls to show the symbol that matched the one on the shield of Narnia. I wait for Edmund to touch it like Caspian did but he never does.

"Lina," Edmund calls my name and spin, dropping my hair at the same time. I look into the boy's unfamiliar, cool blue eyes. "You really don't remember me?"

I bite my lower lip and slowly shake my head, feeling awful about myself.

The boy sighs roughly, takes a step back, and runs his hands through his hair. He turns his back for a minute before spinning back and coming close to me again. "You're name is Carolina Elizabeth Foster. You live in a penthouse in New York City with parents who ignore you and a grandmother who thinks you are a burden…you say it doesn't affect you but deep down it truly does. You are a blue blood yet a social outcast because you don't give into that life style plus you have a hard time letting people in." I open my mouth to object to that last point but he smiles slightly and stops me. "Don't get me wrong, you are friendly and very caring…it's just the close relationships that take a lot of work for you. And I know you'll deny that you have a hard time letting people in, of course, but in the end, after we argue, you will just let it go because you know I'm right."

I close my mouth then despite how much I wanted to argue with him just then.

Edmund continues. "You are willing to sacrifice yourself for your friends and for the people you love. You are very stubborn. You have absolutely no sense of direction. And you can't swim. " He stops, smiling slightly, timidly again. "How did I do?"

I shrug slightly, feeling uncomfortable that he knows so much about me when I know nothing about him. "I can swim." I say. "I just learned how to."

He nods. "I bet a lot as changed for you recently, right?"

"What makes you say that?" I ask quietly, wondering how he would know something like that too.

"Because you have recently returned from Narnia…no one returns from Narnia as the same person they came as." Edmund's smile fades. "But I proved to you that I know you, Lina."

"But I don't know you!" I say, throwing my hands out for emphasis. "Super, you can spit out some fun facts about me but that doesn't change the fact that I don't remember you or Lucy or this Rashabash—whatever his name is—guy who supposedly kidnapped me. It's all just so fair fetched. I-I-I" I stop and take a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know you."

Edmund's face falls flat and he clenches his jaw, nodding slightly. I have hurt him, I know this, but I can't change the fact that he is a complete stranger to me. What did he want from me? I'm not sure.

"But, Lina, you don't understand. You and Edmund were in-"

"Lucy, that's enough." The boy says, cutting his little sister off. The girl starts to protest but he throws a look over his shoulder that makes her go quiet. Edmund's eyes turn once more to me, looking defeated. "She clearly has use knowing what happened in the past when she doesn't remember it." With those words, Edmunds starts stomping out of the cabin.

"Ed, where are you going?" Lucy asks with a sigh. "We haven't even discussed-"

"Enough, Lucy!" He yells over his shoulder before exiting the room, slamming the doors behind him, and making me jump.

I look to Lucy who gives me a small, sympathetic smile. "I'll go talk to him." She says before coming over to give me a hug. "Even though you don't remember me, it's still really good to see you, Lina."

"I'm sorry." I tell her, not knowing what else to say.

She nods. "I have faith that Aslan will return your memories to you in due time…it's all part of his plans." The girl rubs my shoulder as a comforting gesture before turning to Caspian. "We shall speak later? When Edmund has calmed down?"

"Of course, Lucy." Caspian tells her.

The girl nods again before excusing herself to find her brother, leaving Caspian and me alone in the cabin. I look over at king, shake my head, and collapse on the bed. I place my head in my hands as I sit on the edge. "Well, this was an interesting turn of events." I tell him before looking up. "I'm sorry I upset your friends."

He shook his head before coming to sit next to me. "You didn't upset them, Lina. They are just as confused as you are."

"Caspian, it's hard enough for me to accept the fact that I am here now but to think that I have been to Narnia before and to not remember it? It's all too much."

"I understand, believe me. This situation would be extremely difficult for anyone, it's not just you who is having a hard time, actually, I think you are handling yourself quite well...especially comparing to the other one…did you see that boy out there who went ballistic?" We both laugh, remembering Lucy and Edmund's companion. "But Lucy's right: everything in its own time. If you are meant to remember, those memories will come back to you. Until then I'll make sure that Edmund gives you some space…he is not exactly the most patient man on the entire planet."

I smile. "Thanks, Caspian. I appreciate it."

He nods and pats my back to comfort me, just like Lucy did. I'll tell you, I am confused but I am not depressed. I don't need to be comforted and babied; I need time to process what has happened here.

It is at this moment that I remember Edmund saying I have a hard time letting people in…does this situation, with Caspian and Lucy count? I am not sure. I hope not because it would be very creepy for this stranger to know something like that about me that I still have a hard time figuring out.

"Lina?"

"Hmm?" I say, turning my attention out of my thoughts and to Caspian.

"I asked you if you would mind sharing the cabin with Lucy…she'll have to sleep below deck with the men otherwise."

"Oh, no, that is absolutely fine. She is more than welcome to take it if-"

"Lina," Caspian set me with that gaze he gives me when I am being, what he considers 'nonsensical'. "You can both share it. I know Lucy will not mind in the slightest."

"Okay…Thanks, Caspian."

"For what?" He asks, now standing up. I follow his lead and stand up as well, crossing my arms over my chest and looking down at my feet.

"For not trying to force me to remember; for being okay with the fact that I'm not okay with all of this." I pause and look up at him. "Do you really think I've been here before?"

"How else would you explain what Edmund knows about you?" He asks me in return, answering my question without really providing an answer.

"He's a stalker?" I joke, knowing that I was just grasping at straws here.

Caspian tilts his head to me. "Edmund is many things, Lina, but a stalker is not one of them. He truly is a good man…once you get past his hard exterior." The king walks over to the doors and opens one. "Do you want to come with me to find the king and queen? I promise nothing more about the Golden Age will be discussed today."

I furrow my brow and wrinkle my forehead. "Wait, Edmund and Lucy are the king and queen too? I thought they were brother and sister-?"

Caspian laughed, before going over to a bookshelf in the far end of the room and pulling out a heavy volume. He placed it on the table, coming up several maps in the process. "Maybe you should brush up on Narnian history."

I nod slowly as I approach the massive book with caution. "You don't travel lightly, do you?"

He smiled and shook his head, before going back to the doors. "So, what will it be?"

I look at him then at the book and back again. "I think I'll stay. Who knows, reading this big, scary book might trigger some memory or another."

Caspian smiles again. "I shall see you later then, Lina."

"Bye." I call as he walks out the door and closes it behind him.

I sigh as I look down at the red leather bound book. Pulling up a chair, I open the tome to the first page and begin reading about the creation of this world. I'm not exactly sure how long I read for; it could be an hour or a few. I learn tons of information about the White Witch, the Pevensies, and their rule during what was called the Golden Age. I even read a little bit about my supposed story.

It isn't anything much, just a little blurb about this girl who came from the same world as "The Kings and Queens of Old", befriended them, and traveled to Calormen where she was kidnapped by the prince; nothing that I hadn't already been told. But then the paragraph goes on to say that I—or she—was held captive for several months before the three eldest Pevensies came to rescue her. The High King, Peter was his name, planned on fighting for her against the prince but the girl ended up doing it herself, challenging the prince to an archery contest. The girl won, went back to Narnia, and then disappeared…just like that without any explanation.

I read this story over and over, remembering the handwritten story the old man, the elderly Edmund Pevensie, had given me and it seemed to be pretty much the same tale. I lost the pages to his story three years ago and could not remember it very well but I remember the basic plot and it does, in fact, resemble this history book.

Yes, the facts were sitting right in front of my face. They were all around me. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't remember any of it. This story, my story, means nothing if I have no recollection of it.

I am only as good as the memories I hold within me.

I can't be the girl in this story without knowing who she was at the time and what made, shaped her, to be this way.

No matter how much Edmund wants me to be this girl, I can't.

I just can't.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think and thank you for reading! **


	3. Heartbreak Warfare

**Hello all! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Here we go with a new chapter! **

**Thanks for reading!  
**

* * *

The clinking of swords ring out through the ship, signaling that Edmund and Caspian are sparing again. I leave my nook at the front of the ship, the place I have been spending a lot of time reading lately, and walk back to the rail to look down upon the two men below me on the main deck. It looks like Caspian is winning, but Edmund is very evenly skilled. If I had to guess I would say that he was behind because he was rusty; it has been six months since he has last picked up a sword, after all.

The pair was taking up the entire deck, disrupting the crew as they went about their duties, but the captain does not seem to mind. It is a rare treat for the men to see something so exciting while at sea. They continue on in this way, with Caspian trying to deliver a blow and Edmund blocking it; they would then switch offensive and defensive sides before going back again. It continues in this fashion for several more moments before Caspian finally disarms Edmund. At first the two men look furious with each other, the fight still resides in their eyes. Only a second later, Edmund begins to smile and the two exchange a smile and laugh. Caspian drops his sword and wraps an arm around Edmund's shoulders.

Caspian says something to the other king, words I can't hear over the cheers coming from the seamen who were watching them spare. Edmund nods, still smiling a smile I find very handsome, before looking up to meet my eyes. I give the polite little wave, not knowing what else to do.

Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace have been with us since yesterday but I haven't talked to the king yet. Lucy was bunking with me in Caspian's cabin and we actually get along really well; she wouldn't talk about my past in Narnia, though. She said it really wasn't her story to tell which left me feeling suspicious. Why wouldn't she tell me? Why wasn't it her story? But, like I said, Lucy really wasn't talking and I am okay with that.

Eustace, the Pevensies' cousin, is around too. He writes in his diary a lot and doesn't talk much, which is kind of a good thing. Eustace thinks he is dreaming this entire place up and hasn't accepted the fact that he has been transported to a new world; at least, I was sane enough, or I guess I could be crazy, to just go with the flow.

What I am having a hard time with, however, is the fact the Lucy and the boys are from the 1940's. How could four different people from two different times be transported to this one world? It was all so confusing.

But it would all make sense in time, Caspian assured me of that. He has been keeping a close eye on me since our newest guests arrived, probably because Edmund didn't take it very well when Caspian told him to keep his distance from me; he wants to make sure that I am alright, which I am. I am just confused, that's all.

I didn't want Edmund to have to stay away from me. I just want him to leave the issue of my history in Narnia be. There is tension on the ship, that much is certain, and I think it's because of me. I have to say something to him. I'm not exactly sure why, I just know that I should and that it is the right thing to do.

I go to the wooden staircase and start descending it, my eyes on Edmund the entire time. He realizes what I am doing and leaves Caspian to meet me at the bottom. My eyes flint to Caspian for a second who looks like he is about to come over too but I shake my head slightly, letting him know that this is okay with me. The reigning king nods in return but continues to watch the interaction between Edmund and me.

I finally make it to the bottom and smile at the dark haired boy before me. "That was some nice fighting back there. You are a really good soldier."

He chuckles. "Thank you. I'm a little rusty but…"

"It'll come back, I'm sure." I tell him in return.

Edmund nods. "I'm sure it will, too, Lina, along with other things."

I bit my bottom lip when he says those words, knowing what he was referring to and pressing me to remember, before looking away from him. He can tell that he made me feel uncomfortable, I think, because he sighs. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I suppose that I am just being…I don't know." He pauses, bringing my eyes back to meet his. It is his turn to look away from me as if I am the one that is making him nervous. Just then, a loud scream from behind Edmund captures both of our attentions and he spins to see his cousin scrambling away from Reepicheep who had his sword out for some reason. It doesn't concern me though because I know Reepicheep isn't going to hurt Eustace; he is just joking with him and it will probably do that boy some good.

Edmund laughs and shakes his head. "He's having a tough time adjusting."

I nod, knowing that his statement was completely true. We lapsed into another silence before I think of something to say to him. "Speaking of having a tough time adjusting…I was, um, reading about the battle with the White Witch in one of these old history books that Caspian gave me to look at…it seems you didn't really believe in Narnia when you first arrived here. How did you deal with it?"

The boy in front of me looks down at his hands for a moment before speaking. "I was just a kid then, twelve years old and hating the world, especially my family. We had just been shipped off to the middle of nowhere because of the Blitz and I was furious." He shakes his head again. "I was in a rough place and I wanted nothing more than to rebel against my siblings…it was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life." He pauses. "Besides letting you go."

I tilt my head to him, wondering what he means and where this is coming from, and clear my throat before looking away again. "Edmund, I-"

Caspian interrupts us the next minute, probably because he sees how uncomfortable I am. I am never more thankful for the Narnian King than I am in this moment. "Lucy is waiting for us in the cabin. I have some things for the two of you, Edmund."

Edmund reluctantly looks over to Caspian and nods. His eyes return to look at me; he bows slightly before turning to go to the Captain's-turned-girl's quarters. Caspian smiles at me. "See you later, Lina."

"Isn't she coming with us?" Edmund asks, not turning around.

Caspian looks from Edmund to me. "Well, if she likes…?"

I look at both men, wondering whose suggestions I should be listening to. I really want to avoid any further interactions with Edmund like the one we just had, that is for sure, and I don't think he will say anything like he did in front of Caspian and his sister. Deciding that I will be fine, I tell the two that I can go with them.

The three of us go to the cabin to see that Lucy is sitting at the table, studying a small dagger and a beautifully decorated bottle. She smiles at our entrance and comes to Edmund with the trinkets in hand. "See what Caspian had for us? He has your sword too, Edmund."

"I forgot about them until now, I'm afraid." Caspian says, going over to the case of weapons and pulling out a sword. He goes over to Edmund and hands it to him. "I carry them with us wherever we go but a lot has been going on since you arrived and it slipped my mind."

Edmund thanks him as he studies what I assume is his sword from his time in Narnia. I go over to the case as the Pevensies study their returned weapons and look at the bow and sheath of arrows that remain. "Whom do these belong to? Susan?"

Edmund nods as he comes over to study the beautiful bow with me. He is quiet for a moment before speaking. "Why don't you use them? You have before and I know Susan would not mind. In fact, I think she would insist."

The king removes the bow from the case and hands it to me. I sputtered for a second before deciding to just shake my head. "I couldn't. These aren't mine and I'm not very good with a bow-"

"Yes, you are." He says with a confident tone in his deep voice. "You used these to free yourself from Rabadash, they'll be good to you now just as they were then."

I ran my hand down the bowstring, amazed by how truly beautiful the weapon was. My eyes flint to Caspian, silently asking what his opinion on Edmund giving me this gift is. The man nods reassuringly to me, telling me that it is okay. A sigh escapes my lungs as I nod in return.

"Thank you, Kind Edmund." I say with a smile.

"King Edmund?" The man says with a raised eyebrow. "You haven't called me king since the first night we met, Lina. Please don't start that again."

Again, he brings up things I don't remember and I feel uncomfortable. I don't know why he is pressing this. Yes, I realize that he is impatient but to be this persistent? It is almost like he is determined to have me remember something but refuses to tell me what it is.

I nod slightly, not knowing what else to do.

Edmund does the same thing before turning back to Caspian. "Now that we are all geared up for battle, when do we land?"

I saw Lucy's eyes go slightly wide at the mention of battle. Though I am sure she would not run from a fight she seemed to be a more of a lover than a fighter. As for me? I would say that I am the same way but I think Edmund would disagree with that statement.

"We shall arrive in two hours time, though I hope there will be no battles to speak of. After all, the Lone Islands do belong to Narnia. They will not have a quarrel with us."

"Of course they won't." Lucy added, smiling, twisting her hair all the while...is the queen also batting her eyelashes? I'm sure and I'm about to make assumptions. "I'm sure they are very loyal to Narnia and to you, Caspian."

The king smiled back. "Thank you, Lucy." He turns from the girl to look at Edmund. "The people of the Lone Islands have always been peaceful, Edmund. You know this. We will go ashore, search for the Lords, restock on supplies, and be on our way. Everything will be all right."

I want to tell him how likely it is that his statement will come back to haunt us but decide against it. We are all anxious already to be on land and to plant doubts about the safety of these islands would be very mean of me. No, Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy know this world and I trust their judgment, no matter how superstitious I am.

* * *

As Caspian predicted, we drop anchor two hours later. The Lone Islands loom before us, a beacon of civilization in a vast sea.

Just as soon as we arrive, we are on a long boat making our way to land; it had been an understatement when I said we are eager to be on dry land. I am sitting next to Eustace as he whimpers and mutters complaints under his breath.

"This is absolute nonsense." He says to me, now speaking up. "These people are probably barbarians, thugs, ready to kill us and steal our valuables."

I dare a glance over at him. "What valuables? The only things you have are the clothes on your back and that journal, which you left on board the ship anyway."

He sputters for a second before getting some words out. "Well, they shall just kill us then!"

"Leave her alone, Eustace, and do us all a favor and shut it." Edmund says from his spot on the bench ahead of us with Lucy sitting next to him. "You could have stayed on the ship but you chose to come. If you get murdered it's your own fault."

"Edmund!" Lucy cries, a little outraged that her brother is being rude to their cousin. Truth is, I think Lucy wants to say the same things to Eustace but is too polite to do so; Edmund on the other hand does not care about insulting him. I am on the fence on whether this is a good or bad quality in a person.

We finally arrive at the dock and scramble off the boat. I have a hard time getting my land legs, seeing as how I have been dealing with waves and a rocking boat for over a week but it feels so good to be on land. A big smile spreads across my face as I take in the buildings, reminding me of some kind of Arabian town, before me.

I come to rest next to Lucy and we gaze more intently at the city as the others pile out of the long boat. The buildings, the streets, everything is deserted and still. My eyes glance Lucy's way before I turn to the king. "Caspian?" I prompt, asking him what is going on here.

He and Edmund wrinkle their foreheads as they realize what we just did; no one appears to be here and, if they are, they are hiding. But from what? I'm not sure whether knowing the answer or leaving it a mystery is worse. I hear Eustace say something about going back now, before it is too late, and Edmund quickly tells him to shove it.

"Come on, then." Caspian says, helping the four of us into motion. "Let's start looking or else we'll lose the day light."

"Stay close." Edmund whispers the words in my ear before rubbing my elbow. I think he means to comfort me but manages nothing more than to send goose bumps up and down my arms.

The men start moving forward, Lucy and I follow, and Eustace brings up the rear. When he begins to whimper a moment later I almost wish we had left him at the long boat. He would have at least been quiet there.

I hear Lucy take her sword from the holder on her hip and see as she grips it tightly as we venture deeper into the abandoned city. She gives me a look before throwing a glance to Queen Susan's bow on my back. I think she wants me to arm myself or prepare for battle but I don't want to; with my luck, if I pull out the bow I will have to use it and I'm not sure I will be any good. For now I just stick close next to Lucy.

But, moments later, the girl splits from me to go and check out a boarded up building. I sigh before doing the same with what appears to be a house on my left. Slowly, I go over to it and peek in between the boards; my eyes go wide when I see a family huddled together on the far side of the small interior room, looking frightened.

Just then, I feel hot breath on the back of my neck and I yelp, jumping and spinning around to see Eustace standing six inches behind me. "Eustace!" I scold him, sounding too much like my mother for my taste, and hit him in the arm. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" He apologizes frantically before peeking into the window that I had just been standing at. He sputters, like always, before looking at me then turning to his cousins that wandered several yards away from us. "Maybe these people have the right idea, ay? I think it's time for us to leave." His eyes go back to me. "Do you not agree, Lina?"

I did, in fact, agree with him. These people are hiding and barricading themselves in their own homes and it has to be for some reason, probably a really scary one. Every piece of logic and reason I possess is telling me that we should go back; but the new Lina isn't ruled simply by logic but also by faith and trust. Right now, I trust the Pevensies and Caspian. If they think we are all right here then I think we are all right here.

"I don't agree." I say with a shrug. "Sorry, kid. Maybe next time."

I turn from the boy then and jog to catch up with Lucy, Edmund, and Caspian. The three of them seem to be heading towards the large building in the center of what I assumed to be a town square. Nothing moves around us except for the dust we kick up from the ground with our boots. Caspian makes it to the large double doors of the very official looking building and pushes one open tentatively, Edmund standing right next to him with his sword held high in case something jumps out. The wood creaks with the movement but nothing happens except more dust rolling around the four of us.

The men gaze into the dark room, exchange a glance between them, and then make to enter. From behind us, I hear the sound of Eustace's mousy voice piping in again. "Well, I am not going in there. No way is that happening." He shakes his head furiously and crosses his arms as if to stand his ground. I just find it kind of funny that he thinks we are going to drag him in there against his will. I think everyone will be happier if he stays outside anyway.

I look back to see Caspian nod. The king takes a dagger from his belt loop and hands it to Eustace who stares at it like it is monster. "Okay then, you can stand guard."

Eustace looks from the dagger to Caspian then back again. He nods quickly again. "Yes, guard, I like that. I shall stand watch. You can count on me, sir." He turns his back to us and hugs the dagger to his chest, whimpering slightly yet again.

I raise an eyebrow to Edmund as we walk into the dark, dank interior of the building. "Are you sure you two are even related to him?" I ask, daring one last look at our brave 'guard'.

Lucy and Caspian venture further into the room and Edmund stops in front of me, laughing. "Unfortunately, yes, we are related…but can I let you in on a little secret?" I smile and nod. Edmund beckons me forward with two fingers so he can whisper in my ear. "When I was young I was just like him, scared and skittish as a cat. It's yet another reason I did not handle Narnia so well when I first arrived."

Edmund smiles at me before shrugging. I laugh slightly, trying not to be too loud and alert all those murders and thieves that Eustace is so worried about.

"Edmund? Come look at this." Lucy calls, bringing both her brother and I over to a podium, the only piece of furniture in the entire room, where a large book sat. I come to stand in from of Caspian, with him looking over my shoulder, as all four of us look at the book.

It isn't a novel or anything like that, more like an inventory list. But once I look at it closely I notice that it is not the names of items written down but the names of people. "What is this?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at Caspian who looks just a bewildered as I do but trying to think it through.

"And why are there some names crossed out?" Lucy adds to my question with one of her own.

A sharp intake of breath can be heard from behind me and I turn to see that Edmund and Caspian are looking at each other with knowing, fearful eyes. "Slave traders." Caspian spits out, drawing his sword at the same time.

I look to Lucy, about to ask what the odds are of running into these slave traders when yells and screams start bouncing off the empty walls. Ropes fall from the rafters above us and I see as a dozen men begin to slide down them with swords and knives in hand.

"You have got to be kidding me." I breathe out as Caspian grabs me by the wrist to pull me closer. He reaches behind me, taking the bow and an arrow from the sheath and handing them to me. I am frozen for a second before my mind starts working again, realizing that I am given this weapon in my hand for a reason.

"What should I do!" I yell over the screams and fighting that is now taking place. Caspian was stuck in a swordfight with one of the first thugs to hit the ground, same with Edmund. Lucy was close by waiting for the fight to come to us next.

"Shoot them with an arrow!" Caspian says before punching an opponent.

I notched an arrow and raised the bow, pointing it at a short man coming near me. I closed one eye and took aim but then I realized… "Shoot them where!"

"Anywhere!" Edmund grunts before kicking his thug in the gut and moving on to his next one.

I look back and the man is even closer to me now, a wicked smile on his face. Everyone else is engaged in some form of combat and I know I have to shoot him. I take a deep breath, pull the string back as tightly as I can and let it go. The red-feathered arrow sails through the air, lodging itself in the man's shoulder a moment later. He hisses in pain but still comes towards me.

I realize that I don't have time to reload an arrow so I do the only thing I can think of doing at that moment: I push my palm against the arrow sticking out of him, thrusting it further into his body. He cries out again and his free hand instinctively goes to his injury and that gives me enough time to grab the ledger and hit him upside the head with it. Down he goes and I drop the book before putting another arrow in the bow. There was a man coming down a rope near me and I take aim, shooting him right in the hand. I am stunned, not realizing that my aim could be that good, when I see him let go and fall the rest of the way to the floor where he lays still.

I am just about to notch another arrow when a yell rings through the room again, causing everyone to pause. "Drop your weapons or I kill your friend!" He says. I spin around, the arrow pulled tight in the bow but not up and poised. A older man in a turban stands in the doorway with a knife to Eustace's throat and I know we are done; not only do they have the Pevensie's cousin but we are also surrounded and outnumbered.

I see as Lucy roughly throws down her sword, angry that we were defeated and that they have her cousin, both. My eyes go to the boys next who look reluctant but I sigh and replace the bow and arrow on my back, trying to show a sign of good faith for them.

Caspian and Edmund throw down their weapons the next second; from the corner of my eye I can see Edmund glaring at his cousin as if blaming him for our being caught.

The man holding Eustace passes him off to one of his comrades and saunters over to the four of us. He looks Lucy up and down, smiling, before coming to stand before me. The scruffy man's hand runs down my cheek and I shudder. That instant I receive another flash from a past I don't remember.

_I was in a tent, next to an archery field. My back was against a pole and I was stuck there because a tall, rather handsome man loomed over me with a smoldering smile playing across his face. I chill ran down my spine as the man asked me if I was any good at archery. _

_ "I'm decent, nothing compared to Queen Susan but I am decent." I stammered out. _

_ He took a step closer and raised an eyebrow as he stared down at my lips. "Oh, Miss Lina. I would say you are a far, far cry from decent." _

The flash was gone and the turbaned man replaced the man from the memory. His smile grew as I slapped his hand away from my face and took a step backwards. The man chuckled. "This one is full of spirit, she is. That will go over well at auction." He shook his head, humored, before turning to his men that surrounded us. "Take these three," He pointed to Lucy, Eustace, and me "to auction and lock the other two up in the dungeons…much too muscular to put anyone's mind at ease to buy them."

Hands clamp over my forearms and I begin to struggle to get away, fighting with all my might but it is no use. They take my bow, Susan's bow, and place my hands in chains, just the same as Lucy and Eustace. I hear Lucy calling for her brother and he returns the call with even more fierceness; he struggles against the three men holding him but he is too outnumbered. His eyes fly from Lucy to me and he calms slightly, nodding his head to silently tell me that it will be all right.

"You fool, release me at once! I am your king!" Caspian yells in outrage as he fights to keep his hands free from the irons. "I am Caspian the Tenth, your king! Release us!"

The leader of the group laughs. "I am king around here, sir." He nods to the men holding the three of us and we are suddenly thrust into motion out of the front doors in which we came. It is only now that I begin to panic, realizing that we are really being separated from Caspian and Edmund; we are going to be sold as slaves.

I look behind the big, muscular guy—who actually resembles the bouncer at this nightclub that my friends and I sneak into on occasion—and manage to catch Caspian's glance as he is being shoved in the opposite direction.

"It's all right! We'll get to you! Don't worry!" He shouts before the thugs holding him punch him in the gut to silence him.

My gaze shoots to Edmund then as I feel my breathing become shallow and quick as the panic creeps up; but, I won't let it over take me. The new Lina can hand this. Edmund catches my eye and mouths four words.

_I'll come for you. _

I nod in response before turning back to see that Lucy is crying silent tears ahead of me. My feet speed up slightly and I catch up to her, managing to do nothing more than nudge my shoulder next to hers because my hands are chained together.

"So, do you think they actually have a plan of getting us out of this?" I ask her.

She nods, gnawing on her lower lip to stay strong. "Oh, I'm sure they have a plan, Lina…it's just the matter of executing it that will prove problematic."

I can't help but let out a nervous chuckle. "Great, just dandy."

No matter how much I hate to admit it—and I will never say this out loud—we should have listened to Eustace and went back while we still could. But, like I said, I am never going to admit that so for now I will grin and bear it…and hopefully not get sold into slavery.

But, come on, let's face it, I don't even think the new Lina can handle being a slave, neither can Lucy. It might do Eustace some good…Nah, I even can't let him be a slave.

So I will hope Caspian and Edmund have a plan and that it actually works but I am not going to count on it exclusively.

"We need our own plan. If they can't get out we are going to have to do it ourselves." I tell Lucy.

"Okay, so what is our plan?" She asked.

I sigh. "I'm still thinking about it." I say, and oh boy, am I. The auction block can be seen in the distance, shimmering as if it is a mirage in the heat and it is only a matter of time before we will be up there. "But it'll be good."

At least, I hope it will be.

I stop my mind rambling and begin to think.

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**So, I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think! Thank you so much for reading! **


	4. Hopes and Fears

**Hello all! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Here we go with a new chapter! **

**Thanks for reading!  
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Lucy, Eustace, and I are shoved against a rough brick wall, close to several other people who are for sale at the slave auction. I hit my forehead, feeling a burst of blood bubble to the surface as I slide down to a sitting position. I hiss due to the pain but pay little attention to it; there are far worse things to worry about than a cut right now.

"Lina, are you-?" Lucy started but I cut her off with a wave of my shackled hands.

"Fine, we just need to get out of here." I say, looking around the auction block to see if there are any means of escape. Men are already starting to gather as I look to see a steep ledge to the ocean on our right, a tall wall behind us and before us; the only exit is the main, narrow road that the men brought us down to come here and that is already heavily guarded.

The auctioneer goes up to the block and bangs a heavy staff against the wooden platform. I feel my stomach sink as I begin to realize we are too late. Even if I am to come up with a plan in time there will be no time to put it into motion. The Lina who was in Narnia before might have been really super with escape plans on the fly but Lina from New York isn't.

"Let us begin, shall we?" The auctioneer announces before waving the first of the people up to the block. A man, probably in his mid thirties, hobbles, frightened, up to the platform and the bidding begins. I don't even pay attention to the amount of money; I wouldn't be able to convert their currency into dollars if I tried anyway.

"Hey, you, girl!" One of the keepers stage whispers to me, hissing through his teeth. "What did you do to your head?" He shook his own head before tossing a rag at me. "Wipe that blood off or you will never fetch a fair price."

I dab the rag against my head, not trying very hard to clear the blood; if I', not going to 'fetch a fair price' then maybe I won't be sold at all. The man grunts when he realized what I am doing and roughing snags the thing from me. He takes my chin in his hand and pulls me up so he can get a good look at my forehead. Shaking his head again, he takes the rag and wiped my forehead, causing it to sting badly.

I rip my face away at the same time as he shoves me away with a satisfied nod of his head.

"Sold for forty gold doubloons!" The auctioneer shouts, pointing to a man in the front of the group, and banging his cane at the same time. "Come up, sir, and collect your property!"

The man who won the auction does as instructed and comes to grab the new slave's chains; he yanks the frightened man so hard off of the block that he falls onto his knees. The owner scolds him and yells for him to stand but will not give him time to so he just begins to drag him out of the square. I am about to say something when the man who wiped the blood from my face comes over and grabs my arms, pulling me to my feet and hustling me over and up onto the auction block.

I hear Lucy saying my name as the auctioneer begins his speech. "Now, isn't she a beauty, gentlemen? Shiny and new except for that small bump on her head, folks. She's small but she's got a strong heart. Why don't we start the bidding at fifty gold doubloons?"

A man raises his hand, offering the amount stated, and the bidding begins. I am racking my brain, trying to think of a plan that might reside in some corner of my brain but what is there to do? I am surrounded and in the process of being sold. My best bet as of now is to try escape after I get sold but that would mean leaving Lucy and Eustace behind. But I will come back for them. Once I escape my new 'master' I'll go back to the ship, send in back up and we will get them all including Caspian and Edmund.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Sold for one hundred gold doubloons! Come pay your fee and collect the lovely addition to your help!" The auctioneer motions for a man in the back, who is wearing a cloak that conceals his face, up to the block. The man throws a sack of coins at the man with the ledger and money before coming to collect me. He grabs my arm roughly and starts to rip me away from the square.

I look back at Lucy, seeing that she is now going up for auction. "Lucy, it'll be okay! Don't worry!"

The girl nods but doesn't look very hopeful. The auctioneer begins his bidding and that's all I hear before my new master and I round a deserted corner.

We are alone now and I know that this is my chance to escape. Struggling against his hold, I rip my arm from him grasp and begin to run but be grabs me around the waist and holds on tight. His hand goes around my mouth in case I try to scream. I'm still squirming, trying to get away when the man places his mouth close to my ear and speaks. "Miss Lina, stop! I'm here to help."

I freeze and the man slowly lets go of me. Turning around, I see that the man who bought me at auction removed his hood and was none other than the captain of the Dawn Treader.

"Captian? What are you doing here?" I ask, seriously confused now. How had they figured out that we were in trouble so quickly? I'm not complaining about this, obviously, but it just seems a little too convenient…maybe I should just take it as the plain dumb luck that it is and move on.

"We sent a boat ashore for supplies after your boat landed when they returned to say that the city was abandoned and the king was nowhere to be found we all came. The rest of the men are scattered in the city and square to rescue the kings and queen." He explains, looking over his shoulder, listening to make sure that they are still bidding on Lucy at the auction. "I need to get back and bid on Lucy. Here." From beneath his cloak he pulls Queen Susan's bow and arrows, handing them to me. I smile, realizing that he must have found the thug that took them from me and stole them back. "Reepicheep is down the street waiting for you…you will be able to lead him in the direction of King Caspian and King Edmund, correct?"

I nod. "I think so." It was the opposite direction, the way they had taken the men. I think I can get there. After all, it can't be that hard to find the dungeons.

The captain nods back. "Good luck, Miss Lina. Do not take too long." He says before putting his hood back up and going back around the corner and into the square.

I take the bow and arrows and strap them to my back—the spot where they belong—and take off in the direction that he indicated to me. I run about one hundred yards when Reepicheep jumps out in front of me, his sword in his hand like he was ready to attack someone that is behind me. I spin, half expecting a knife to be right at my back but no one is there.

"Reep, what do you think you are doing, scaring me like that?" I ask, realizing that Eustace did something similar earlier that day. People should just not sneak up behind others, especially when they are jumpy like I am. Or maybe I am the problem and need to lighten up. Either way, the surprises need to stop.

"Sorry, Miss Lina, I really do apologize. It is a habit, I suppose, to always suspect your enemy is right on your tail." He bows to me before putting his sword down at his side. "Which way shall we go?"

I purse my lips as I look around the two of us, trying to get my bearings back about the city. It doesn't take very long for me to spot the official looking building where we found the ledger earlier. I point Reepicheep in that direction and we begin our run there.

Several blocks pass us by without a problem then Reep suddenly stops me with his tail, whispering for me to hide in the alleyway next to us. Quickly, we creep into the shadows and wait there as more of the thugs pass by with a group of people in chains and riding in a wagon. I wonder if they are going off to auction and I am about to ask Reepicheep when he puts his paw up to his mouth to silence me. The wagon passes and we wait another moment before the mouse feels it is safe to venture out once more.

"Where do you think it is heading?" I ask Reep as we head the last stretch of the way to the building.

The mouse scurries ahead of me, scouting the way. "I can't be sure, Miss Lina. My guess is that it cannot be anywhere good, though." The mouse pauses as he enters the room where we had been captured. "Now point me in the direction that the Kings were taken."

I did as instructed, pointing my finger towards a passageway far back in the vast room and we began our run again. Reepicheep continued to scurry ahead of me, seeming to know somewhat of where he is going but I'm not sure how this is possible. "Do you know where the dungeons are for sure?"

"No, but this building seems to have the same general layout as any other keep in a fortress…my guy instinct tells me to go in search of the tower and that is where we will find the holding cells."

"It's a good enough plan for me." I tell him, knowing that his guy is the one we should be trusting. I have no past dealing with holding cells, towers, or being captured.

All of a sudden my vision blurs and I lean heavily on the wall, feeling myself being pulled into one of these flashes that I am becoming very well acquainted with since coming to Narnia.

I was sitting in a window's ledge in what appeared to be a tower. One foot dangled over as I looked over the edge, down at a market far below me. People moved from stall to stall, purchasing food and other types of goods, rushing to get it done and move on with their day. I was overwhelmed with the need to join them, to be down there with them. But I couldn't be for some reason; I had to stay at my window and watch, ever the spectator.

I heard voices surrounding me—did they belong to my mother and science teacher?—that told me I wasn't good enough to be down there, that I didn't belong. I felt hopeless and abandoned in that moment. It was almost like my world had been condensed down to this room fit for an Arabian Princess but I wanted so much more…

I am back in reality quickly and shake my head, clearing the vision from my mind. Reep doesn't notice that I have temporarily blacked out and continues to climb up a flight of stairs, spiraling up one of the towers, and I follow him. The stairs stop and Reep jumps up to push open the door that stands in our way now. It opens and he rushes through followed closely by me.

Just when I am about to ask Reepicheep which way we should go, a guard comes flying at us from the corridor on our left, sword raised and ready to attack. The mouse throws himself onto the man's chest, stabbing him repeatedly before the man goes down. With the mouse's tail, he grabs the key ring from the guard's belt loop and throws it my way. "Go and find the kings!" He says.

"What about you?" I ask, looking at the ring in my hands. The mouse doesn't have time to answer though. Footsteps can he heard coming from the direction that the first guard had came from; something must have tipped them all off and my guess would be a riot down at the slave auction.

"I've got work to do, Miss Lina." The mouse smiles. "Now go."

I smile in return and nod before turning but then Reep stops me before I move a foot. I spin to see that he is holding the man's sword out for me. My hand shakes as I take the sharp, pointy object from him. Sure, I have used the swords before when sparing with Reepicheep and King Caspian but never against a real, true opponent. I am not sure I can use it. Yes, I shot someone with an arrow but that was not as direct as using a sword. It didn't seem as…mean.

My head nods all the same and I wish the mouse one more 'good luck' before running—well, I suppose I shouldn't run considering I am holding a sword—down the corridor. It goes on for maybe ten more yards before I come upon another door. I try to open it but it's locked and I have to resort to looking for the stupid key on the ring, which must hold at least thirty. My fingers fumble as I try to find the right one to fit the lock.

I try half of the keys before I find the right one; the lock clicks and the door swings open to reveal the prison. My feet move me into the room and my hand clutches the sword tightly. I'm not sure what to expect upon looking into the cells, maybe half crazed Hannibal Lector kind of prisoners, but nobody resides within the first few so I don't have to worry about it. It is almost like there is no one there…but I know better.

"Caspian? Edmund?" I whisper as loud as I dare, knowing that Reepicheep and the guards are only hundreds of feet away from me.

"Lina?"

I hear Edmund's voice coming from further down the hall of cells and I rush in that direction. I come to the end of the corridor and stop, looking frantically for my friends.

"Lina!"

My head spins to the right and I see Edmund peeking through the bars at me. I smile quickly before rushing over and gripping the bars too, beyond thrilled to see him. "Edmund! Are you all right? Were you hurt? Where is Caspian?"

He places his hand on mine and grins slightly but does not smile; I have a feeling that he doesn't smile often and I wouldn't be seeing one for a while. My mind instantly calms and I become very aware of the fact that the king is touching me. It is very possible that I start to blush. "Lina, we are fine. Caspian's here, helping a friend. Right now I need you to find a way open the door, okay?"

I nod, jiggling the keys in front of his face. "What kind of rescue mission would this be if I didn't have the keys? I'm not that pathetic."

I start trying different keys to fit into the lock.

"I never said you were." Edmund says, bringing my attention back to him for a second. "I know you can get out of anything."

I feel a blush rise up in my cheeks again as the king compliments me in the way that he always does. A feeling of absolute confusion over the entire situation is about to wash over me when I hear the sound of a shout coming from the entrance of the prison.

"Oh really? Can I get myself out of this?" I ask as pass the keys to him through the bars so he can continue to search for his way out while I wait for the attack of the guards. I hold the sword tightly in my hands, as the guard appears from further down the hall.

"Yes," He says calmly but his fumbling fingers on the key ring give away his real mood at the current time. "Lina, you might not remember mentally how to fight but your body remembers. Trust me. You can do this."

His fingers still search for the right key, trying one in the lock and then another, and I know I am going to have to face the guard that is almost upon me without any help. The faster Edmund searches for the right key, the less confident I become; this isn't going to end well.

The guard is now in front of me and he raises his sword. I raise mine too and finch, my eyes closing as a reflex, and I hear metal clink against metal.

"Lina, open your eyes!" I hear Caspian's voice for the first time now and I follow orders. My eyes fly open to reveal the man in front of me snarling, baring yellow teeth as he tries to press his sword and mine close to my neck. With my free hand, I grab his wrist and wretch him away from me. He only stumbles back a foot or so before coming back at me with full force.

I dive out of the way and his sword crashes through the bars of the cell doors, right next to Edmund. Caspian's hands reach through the bar and grab the sword from him, leaving the guard unarmed and giving me enough time to stand up, race over to the man, and place my sword against his throat. "I wouldn't move if I were you."

The dark haired man glares over at me. "You wouldn't have the guts, girly."

"Are you certain, sir?" I press the sword harder to his neck and see a drop of blood rise and roll down. By this point I am freaking out but I cannot let him know that or else this sword will be in his hand, and then in my heart, faster than I can react. My hand shakes slightly and I hope he doesn't notice.

I hear the door click open as Edmund finds the right key and releases himself as well as Caspian. He comes over to me and takes the sword from my hand. "You did well, Lina." He whispers to me, smiling slightly.

I don't think I have done much, really I hadn't done anything, and I just shrug. Edmund's smile fades and he takes the hilt of the sword and hits the guard on the top of head, causing the man to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Caspian comes hobbling out a second later, weighed down by an elderly man he is helping to walk. Quickly I go over to him and wrap my arm around the man's waist to help take more of his weight. The king looks down at me and smiles. "Are you alright?"

I nod, smiling also. "Fine, and you?"

"Good, better now that we are free and we have found one of the Lords." He pauses to introduce the old man next to me. "Lina, this is Lord Bern. He was one of my father's closest advisors. Lord Bern, this is Lina, our savior."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. But we really need to go." I turn from the old man to look at Caspian. "There are at least a dozen guards coming this way. Reepicheep is holding them off as long as he came but he's going to need help. Plus we need to get to the auction and help the other sailors there…hopefully by now they have Lucy and Eustace but I'm not sure, I was sold before I could see what happened to them."

"You were sold? What happened? How did you get awa-"

"The captain bought me." I say, cutting off Caspian's rant with a wave. "It doesn't matter now we just have to go."

Caspian nods and so does Edmund. The king takes the sword from my hands. "Edmund and I shall clear a path while you help Lord Bern. We will want to try to regroup with the rest of our company."

"We have to find Reep first." Edmund says as he picks up the unconscious guard and drags him into the cell that they had previously been in before locking it back up. "Where did you leave him exactly?"

"By the stairs." I say. The next second I hear the sounds of small claws scratching across the stone floors. "Or he could he just down the hall coming to get us."

The mouse comes into view seconds later, virtually out of breath. "My kings, we must leave. Now."

"Lead the way, Reep. We are right behind you." Edmund says, taking the lead while Caspian follows and I take the rear with Lord Bern. We exit the dungeon and start down the hallway to the stairs. The five of us move quickly, hoping to get out of there as soon as possible; I personally would like to avoid any more altercations between guards or thugs before we regroup, but that's just me.

We make it to the stairs, no problems there, and begin our descent down the spiraling staircase. The mouse and two kings move fast while Lord Bern and I are taking a little longer. The man is older, weak, and as much as he tries to help me out with bearing his weight I still have most of it leaning on me.

"I am sorry, my dear, that I am not lighter. I must be such a burden for you."

I smile over at him as I adjust his arm over my shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine, we all will be."

"I enjoy your optimism, miss Lina." Lord Bern says, smiling slightly.

I don't understand why everyone in Narnia thinks I am such an optimist but I will take the compliment all the same. If people are willing to think that I am a positive person, I am willing to act like one. Maybe that is who Lina is in Narnia—the warrior optimist. It seems so unlikely but you can never really know who you are in your past life, I guess.

We will get out of here. We will find Lucy and Eustace. We will be okay.

Reepicheep, Edmund, and Caspian make it to the bottom of the stairs when the two of us are still struggling at the halfway mark. I call for help as quietly as I can and Caspian comes back to give a hand for me and an arm for Lord Bern. Thankfully, we are able to move faster now with Edmund and Reep leading the way and the three of us only slightly behind them.

The huge double doors loom in front of the five of us as we run through the large room where we were first captured and I know we are closer to freedom with every step; but then I hear the sounds of a battle, probably raging right outside of those doors. My eyes flint to Caspian who has a look of fight in his eyes and I know that my suspicions are right.

"Go." I tell him, nodding in the direction of the doors and our two friends who have now reached them. "We'll catch up in a minute."

"No," Lord Bern interrupts. "You go with him. I shall stay here." I tilt my head to the man, wondering if he will be all right by himself and I think he can read my thoughts because he tells me that he will be okay.

I exchange a glance with Caspian, wondering what he wants us to do. He looks around the large room before nodding to a dark corner. "Let's put him over there. He should be safe until we come back for him."

We do that, leaving Lord Bern in the shadows where he is hard to be seen. He wishes us luck and then we run over to the doors where Edmund and Reepicheep are still waiting for us. I take the bow and an arrow from my back before taking a deep breath, reading myself for what is out those doors.

"Stay close to me." I hear Caspian say at the same time as Edmund tugs on the hem of my tunic, forcing me closer to his side.

Well, this just became very awkward…

I look from one king to the other and then back again. They both exchange a glance too and I take a step forward, thinking I'll just stick close to the mouse instead.

"Any moment now would suffice." Reep tells us in a very annoyed voice.

"Ready." I say for all three of us, wanting this weird moment to pass between my friends.

Edmund nods, silently saying he is ready too and goes over to one of the doors and pulls it open. Light streams in and blinds me for a second but I recover quickly and I'm shocked at the sight that I see.

If I thought that that little tussle we had earlier with the slave traders was a big deal than this was World War III. I see men sword fighting in every direction that I look. It is easy to tell the bad guys from the good guys: the bad guys, like in the movies, are dressed in dark colors while the sailors are dressed in the bright, rich colors of Narnia.

Though I am still trying to wrap my mind around what is going on, Reepicheep, Edmund, and Caspian have already thrown themselves into action. Edmund is trying to slash a man with his sword at the same time Caspian punches one in the face. Reep is taking down opponents faster than I could think possible.

And now it is my turn.

I raise my bow and take aim at the man closest to me. I let loose the arrow and it lodges itself in his shoulder, leaving time for one of the Narnian sailors to take him down completely.

I continue to shoot opponents as I follow Reepicheep through the battle ground, holding my own rather nicely for a while, and then I spot Lucy in the midst of a sword fight with the large thug who had taken us captive earlier. I consider taking an arrow and notching it in my bow before taking aim but realize that I am way too far away for me to actually hit him. With the knowledge that I am useless to Lucy here, I make my way over to her, pushing through the men as I go. Reepicheep calls my name but I ignore it; Lucy's safety is more important than a scolding from a mouse.

Finally, I make it and slide next to her. My side bumps into hers and she seems startled enough to see me that she forgets that she is in a fight.

"Lucy!" I shout the warning as I let loose the arrow I have all ready in my bow into the man's chest. He groans but doesn't fall just yet. Lucy takes her sword then and slices him across the chest, a bright red streak of blood appears in the flesh that she strikes, and it is now that he falls, stopping his attack. We watch him a second, making sure that he is not going to come after us again, before I grab her arm with my free one and study her closely. "Are you okay? What have we missed?"

"I'm fine, Lina. You haven't missed anythi-" She cut herself off. "What do you mean we? Did you get to Edmund and Caspian?"

I nod then. "Yeah, they are around here somewhere. They are alright, too." We pause to look around, trying to find our friend among the battle. But the longer we look the more we realize that the battle is dying down. Fewer men are engrossed in sword fights and more are stopping to catch their breath. It was almost like they are taking a time out but that seems a little ridiculous if you ask me; there are no time outs in real wars, only the ones you play when you are in the park.

"It looks like we have won." Lucy announces a second later, replacing her sword in its holder on her hip.

I tilt my head to her and raise an eyebrow in confusion. "How can you tell? People are still fighting."

Lucy shook her head. "They are taking care of the stragglers." The girl smiles at me. "It's over, Lina. We did it!"

The girl hugs me, jumping around slightly with the excitement and relief. I hug her back, feeling a smile spread across my face as the same emotions race through me. A cheer rises up from the men around us and I let go of Lucy to see them raising their swords in the air in triumph.

My eyes glance around the crowd until they meet the dark ones that belong to Edmund. A small smirk rises on his lips and he nods in my direction; he mouths something to me but I can't exactly make it out. Maybe it was something along the lines of 'I knew you could do it'. I grin back in his direction and nod my head to confirm that I understood.

But now that it is over, I realize that I actually did do it. I handled my own during this whole fiasco on the Lone Islands and for that I couldn't help but be proud of the new Lina. She helped the Narnians achieve something here today.

We found Lord Bern, which means there are six lords left out there somewhere and we are one step closer to completing this quest.

Yes, this battle is ending here today but I have a suspicious feeling that there are going to be many, many more of them in our future.

* * *

**So, I hope you enjoyed it! I realize that there isn't much in the way of romance in this chapter but really it would have felt forced if there were any more than I put in…that's just my opinion. But please tell me what you think! Thank you so much for reading! **


	5. The Search For Something More

**Hello all! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! Here we go with a new chapter! **

**So sorry for the long wait. I was on vacation and then recovering from vacation, plus I had work so I didn't really have all that much time to write. Didn't mean to take so long!**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!  
**

* * *

We are back on the Dawn Treader, with the addition of a sword, some supplies, and a few extra crewmen. Caspian put Lord Bern in charge of the Lone Islands and all seems to be turning around there…that is, with the exception of the of weird smoke monster that had captured some of the people who were sacrificed. I am not sure of the exact story behind the weird green cloud that would come up from the ocean and snatch people from a single long boat floating in the bay but it isn't a good one.

So, along with finding the swords and the lords who own them, we have added destroying a completely non-substantial creature to our list of things to do. Is it me or is Narnia getting stranger and stranger with every passing moment?

But I don't mind so much.

I smile as the ship opens up its sails and begins it voyage on the seas once more.

"That is a very big smile for someone who is bleeding from a head wound." Caspian explains as he jumps onto the railing and sits next to me. I chuckle slightly as I nudge my shoulder against his.

"I'm happy, what's wrong with that? We just survived this crazy battle and I actually helped a little bit. It was…exhilarating...and refreshing to be a part of something bigger than me." I stop my rant to chuckle at myself. "And I'm a huge dork, sorry."

"No, no. It is nice to hear that someone who is not from Narnia is so passionate about the country, its causes, and its people. Besides, I do not know what a dork is so I would not insult you by saying you are one." Caspian raises an eyebrow at the strange word and shakes his head, smiling.

I chuckle too but don't elaborate, not knowing what word to substitute dork for that he would know. I just shrug and tuck the loose hair that had fallen out of my side braid behind my ear and out of my face as the wind blows by. Just then I look up to see Edmund looking in our direction, a not so amused look on his face, while his sister talks to their cousin who is standing next to them.

My eyes connect for his for a second, wondering what is going through the mysterious man's mind but I am beyond trying to figure him out on my own; the throbbing in my head has forced me to.

"He does not like my talking to you." Caspian explains as he looks down at his feet, smiling like he is embarrassed. My eyes leave Edmund to look at the King.

"Well, that's ridiculous. Why would he even care?" I ask, shifting uncomfortable under the knowledge and Caspian's gaze now. "I mean, we barely know each other...in this lifetime, anyway."

Caspian shakes his head and purses his lips, sighing. "I am not sure, Lina. They have not said but I can imagine that it meant a great deal to Edmund if he is acting in such a manner."

"It couldn't have meant that much if he won't even tell me." I mumble under my breath before sighing. "I said I wasn't ready to know before but now I think I am and he still is tiptoeing around the subject like he doesn't think I can handle it or something."

"He wants you to figure it out for yourself, Lina." Caspian says with a small smile. "Knowing what I do about you, and what I'm sure Edmund knows as well, you wouldn't like being told what you have to do based on the past. You, right here, right now, will decide your future, not the Lina from a different era." His eyes flint to Edmund who is back to speaking with his sister and cousin. "And I think that scares him, so he keeps quiet as well as distant."

I raise an eyebrow at Caspian as I realize that he knows a lot more about Edmund and our situation than he is letting on. "How do you know all of this?" I ask him. "Are you a mind reader or just an expert on the Pevensies?"

"Last time they were here, I got to know the Kings and Queens of Old very well. They each are known for their own unique characteristics and I am just letting you know the ones I observed with Edmund." He pauses. "Plus, I am also a man, Lina. We are all of the same frame of mind, especially when it comes to women."

"Oh, really? So you would play this same game if there was a girl from your past that reappeared with amnesia?"

He thinks it over a second and his face falls slightly. "There is only one woman in my past, Lina, and she is never coming back so I do not have to worry about that situation occurring."

I feel as my own face falls as I begin to understand that Caspian has lost a love, someone he truly cared about from the sad, far off look in his eye. I don't know who she is or what happened to her but I feel pity for both of them; I place a hand on top of Caspian's to silently let him know.

The man doesn't look at me, just keeps staring off at the ocean that stretches out before us and I do the same. It is clear that our conversation is over but I still want to be here with my friend despite Edmund's gaze burning a hole in the side of my face. I finally turn my green eyes to meet his dark ones and I smile slightly.

He doesn't smile in return though, just looks wounded. I'm not sure what makes me think so, but I have a sneaking feeling in the pit of my gut that tells me that Edmund Pevensie has given me this look before.

* * *

Everyone went to sleep early that night, well, except for me. I am lying in bed, Lucy completely dead to the world next to me, but I could not seem to find any rest. Usually the waves would rock me to sleep gently, back and forth, back and forth, but not tonight.

My mind is still on Edmund and the secrets, my secrets, that he keeps from me. Regardless of what Caspian thinks of me and of Edmund, I need to know what happened back then and I want more information than I am getting in the random flashes that come to me. Though I am scared to know, my whole story needs to come to light.

But I can't ask Edmund; he won't tell me. Neither will Lucy. So, how then will I find out? I am not sure and that drives me absolutely crazy.

Suddenly the cabin feels too tight for me to be in anymore and I feel the need to escape. Flinging the covers off of me, I jump out of bed and race out of the cabin, craving the fresh air that lay just beyond the doors. I breathe in heavily, trying to get as much into my lungs as possibly as I move over to the side of the ship and stare down into the waves and allow the salty spray to mist my face.

I start to feel myself calm then and relief flows through me.

This anxiety is so strange. I shouldn't worry about things that happened in the past when I have a future to look forward to; I know that. And that is what I am going to do. I have to.

I can't and won't let this eat me apart anymore. If Edmund thinks that I need to know something then he will tell me or, at least, I hope he will. Otherwise I will let the chips fall where they may and just roll with it. I'll get my occasional flash from the past and put the pieces together from there.

If it all comes back to me? Great. If it doesn't? I can accept that too.

This worry, it won't bother me any longer. I'm not going to let it. There are too many other things to fill my mind and this doesn't have to be one of them.

End of story. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.

I take another deep breath before going back to bed and falling into the deep sleep that I so desperately want.

* * *

"Lina, wake up."

My eyes flutter open to see Lucy hovering over me. I jump back at her close proximity and feel like I am having a heart attack. "Jeez, you scared me."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" She says, looking like she feels really awful about the whole thing. I just wave it off, letting her know not to worry about it.

"It's okay. Are we there already?"

Lucy shakes her head. "No, no. I just wanted to let you know it is time for breakfast. I know you do not usually eat in the morning but I believe Caspian also wished to say a few words to the whole crew about yesterday and I thought you might like to be there."

I nod. Though I don't really eat breakfast, it's true, I do want to know what Caspian has to say about what happened on the Lone Islands. Perhaps the Lord had more information to tell the king that he hadn't yet shared with all of us yet? Whatever it is, I am curious.

I jump out of bed and rub my eyes before going over to the full-length mirror and looking at my wild appearance…I look like I have just been through the jungle and back. Shaking my head, I pretend to gag and shudder. "It's never a confidence buster to look at your self in a mirror before brushing your hair, is it?"

Lucy sits and the edge of the bed and shakes her head. "Lina, what are you talking about? You are beautiful. You always have been!"

I chuckle and remember that the new Lina is supposed to accept herself more than the old one did. "Thanks, Lucy." I say, taking her compliment instead of trying to argue it like I would have in the past. The girl nods before falling quiet as I run my fingers through my golden curls.

"Hey, Lina?" She asks a moment later, when I begin to braid my hair over one shoulder.

"Hmm?" I say, still concentrating on the braid with my tongue sticking slightly out of my mouth, as always. I finish it and tie the end off with a strap of leather before I turn around to see the girl playing with her fingers, her head tilting to the side as she studies me. "What is it, Lucy?" I ask, this time giving her my full attention.

"Do you think…I mean, is it possible that I will ever be as beautiful as…you and…and Susan?" Her cheeks flush and she looks down at her fingers that are still entwining themselves together. "I realize that you don't remember Susan but she was said to be the most beautiful woman in Narnia, possibly the whole world. She's a great beauty back in England, too, you know, and I-I-" The girl cuts off and smiles shyly at her fingers.

Going over to the bed, I sit beside Lucy and sigh, realizing what the girl is really thinking. "Do you think you are pretty, Lucy?"

She looks up at me and struggles for words for a second before just settling for a shrug. I nod before looking back over at the mirror where both of our reflections are showing, sitting on the bed. "Like you said, I don't remember Susan…I wish I did because it seems like we were great friends…but I don't so I can't speak for her or her ideas of beauty. But what I can say is that beauty isn't just about the physical appearance but how you feel about yourself on the inside, get it? It's the attitude, the confidence, that is the most beautiful about people, Lucy." I nudge her in the shoulder, making her smile. "And for the record, you are pretty, okay? Don't let anyone tell you differently."

Lucy shrugs again. "Boys don't seem to think so…"

I snort unattractively. "Boys? Let me tell you something about boys, Lucy: they are completely delusional to everything besides video games and sports until they are at least twenty. No boys were interested in me until the last year or so."

She smiles and nods. "Yeah, I remember you saying that. None, until Peter."

I smile, too. "Yeah, none-" My smile fades. "What did you just say?"

Lucy looks over at me quickly and her eyes dart away just as fast. She stands and shakes her head. "I shouldn't have said that." She whispers to herself.

I stand up to, completely shocked. "Lucy, are you saying that I had a relationship with your older brother the last time I was in Narnia?"

The girl shakes her head again. "Lina, I can't say anything-"

"You already did!" I pause as the information overload processes in my brain. I think of Edmund and how this new information would give me insight into the young king and why he acts so weird when I am around Caspian. And then it hits me. "That's why Edmund is so cautious around me, isn't it? He thinks it trips my trigger to go around and flirt with kings, right?"

"Lina-"

"Of course, that's what it is!" I say, no longer talking to Lucy but to myself. "First, high king Peter then there was the whole debacle with Rabadash and now I'm friends with Caspian and he thinks that I am after Narnia again." I pause, realizing my pure genius. Then, the feeling fades. But, then that feeling fades fast. That doesn't explain why the king—do I want to say flirts?—is _friendly _to me when we are alone.

Then the realization hits me like a ton of bricks.

I scoff. "Oh, my god." I storm past a bewildered Lucy and fling open the doors of the Captain's quarters, stomping onto the crowded deck before looking around for Edmund. Finally, I see him standing about twenty feet away from me with a goblet in his hand, talking to Reepicheep, Eustace, and Caspian. His eyes meet mine and he gives me that half smile that I am all too familiar with.

I shake my head once before heading over to the group. Edmund's smile grows slightly as I near him and he opens his mouth to say something just as I stop in front of him.

But he doesn't have time to get words out.

Because I slap him square across the face.

The mouse, the boy, and the reigning king of Narnia look just as stunned as Edmund as they all stare at me. I glare up at the dark and mysterious king and point a finger at him. "I am not a whore, got it?"

The man raises an eyebrow at me but nods slowly anyway. I do the same before turning around and stomping back to towards the Captain's quarters, leaving a group completely frozen in shock in my wake.

I pass Lucy, her mouth hanging open, and wink at her before closing the doors to our rooms and throwing myself back onto the bed.

I wanted nothing more than to curl up under the covers and stay there for the rest of the voyage.

Too much information was shared, too many assumptions were made, and I am tired.

* * *

A knock sounds as the double doors an hour later and I call for whoever it is to come in; I don't turn to investigate who it is, though, because I am at the window seat too engrossed by the waves in front of me.

I hear the sound of boots coming across the wooden floorboards followed by the doors closing. The person comes into the room farther and I already know who it is because of the lack of words. "So, you are not a whore?" Edmund is right behind me when he finally speaks. I roll my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Are you looking for an explanation, my king?"

He sits opposite me on the long window seat and raises that eyebrow again. "I don't need one, _Miss Foster. _ I already spoke to my sister and she told about this morning's…mishap."

"And?"

Edmund sighs. "And I don't think that you chasing after kings. I never did."

I finally turn to look at him; it is now my turn to raise an eyebrow. "You didn't?" I ask skeptically.

The king shakes his head. "No, Lina. I didn't. Of course, after last time I don't blame you for being a little cautious but-"

"Last time?" I ask, thinking to myself how wonderful it is that the two Pevensies keep dropping hints about my last trip to Narnia but never actually giving me details.

Edmund sighs, yet again, and nods. His dark eyes look down at his hands as he speaks. "I'm tired of tiptoeing around the subject, Lina. I know I said I wanted you to figure it out on your own, that it was the only way for things to be as they once were, but that clearly doesn't seem like it is going to happen any time soon." He pauses to look up at me. "I'll answer any questions you have but tell you nothing more than you want to know."

I blink at him a couple of times. Suddenly, I'm very intrigued. "You're serious?"

"Of course." Edmund says slowly. "I wouldn't lie to you, Lina. You must know that above everything else."

I shrug before biting my lip. I tilt my head as I study the dark king. "What do you mean when you say you wouldn't blame me for being a cautious after last time?" I ask, testing Edmund's newfound want to tell me whatever I please.

He runs his hands through his dark hair roughly. "Yeah, I figured you'd want to know that one after I let it slip…it's not one of my proudest moments." He pauses. "So, you had a…flirtation with my elder brother, Peter, when you first came to Narnia. The two of you were quite smitten with each other, I'd say." The king looks out to the waves as he continues with the story; I lean in closer, eager to hear more about my story. "When Rabadash came to Narnia for the tournament he was courting Susan but he had his eyes set on you, as well.

"He pursued you all through his visit and well into our visit to his country…where he finally managed to corner you." My eyes widen at the mention of some creepy prince 'cornering' me and I think Edmund knows where my mind has traveled. "Nothing serious happened, Lina. I interrupted before it could." Edmund's dark eyes grow a little softer then. "I was furious, ran off thinking that you actually had feelings for that fowl man, and you chased after me and tried to explain but I wouldn't listen.

The king takes a deep breath. "I said some awful things that night."

"About me chasing after kings?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Edmund nods. "That is one of the moments I regret most in my life. I never felt so guilty than I did after I found out the truth."

"How did you find out the truth?"

Edmund chuckles lightly and shakes his head at the memory. "You came up with this rather ridiculous plan of meeting up with Rabadash, convincing him that you were in love with him, and then having me hide in the bushes while he confessed the whole situation of his perusal of you."

I can't help but scoff at the sound of that plan. "And that worked? It sounds like one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard." I shrug. "I'm not surprised I thought it up."

Edmund doesn't laugh. "It's not the plan so much as me that was filled with stupidity, Lina, because I was the reason you got kidnapped. It was on that night, the one where you had to prove your loyalty to me instead of me just believing in it, that Rabadash took you from our party and forced the rest of the Narnians out of the his kingdom." The king pauses to shake his head furiously at himself. "I couldn't stop him and you wouldn't let me try."

I wonder what he means by this but don't have time to dwell on it long because I am pulled into one of my all too normal flashes of forgotten memory.

_I was standing at the entrance to what could only be a garden maze. Edmund was there too, one strong arm wrapped tightly around my waist and the other holding this sword outstretched towards a group of guards led by the man I had seen in a previous scene. The guards were holding bows, loaded with arrows, and pointed straight towards us. Edmund wrapped his arm around me tighter and placed his body in front of mine. _

_ The handsome man, who I knew now had to be Rabadash, smirked. "Going somewhere?" _

Instantly, my vision comes backs and I see Edmund before me. I sigh. "Rabadash, did he have short dark hair? Bright blue eyes? Tall and athletic build? Really creepy and awful?"

Edmund nods slowly. "Do you remember?" He asks the question slowly, like he doesn't want to hold too much hope in it. I sigh and shake my head sadly.

"I have flashes; little bits and pieces but they never make sense."

His eyes grow hopeful. "What kind of flashes?"

I explain the ones I have had from the first on about the man in the woods—I now know it is Peter-to the ones about Rabadash and the tower. "There was also one about you." I say.

"What about me?" The words come quickly and desperately.

Is he thinking that I remembered something bad about him? Or something he doesn't want me to remember? Perhaps something he does? I just shrug. "It-it was the first time I met you-saw you. I had a flash of you on a horse in some woods. There, there was a girl on a horse next to you…I assume it must have been Susan."

The man slumps back into his seat a little and nods, taking a deep breath all the while. "Yes, that was Susan and that is from the first time we ever met at Latern Waste when you were wandering around the forest in denim trousers and looking quite odd to us." His voice has fallen and I can't help but feel like I have hurt him some how.

"Oh," I say, realizing my memory of Peter and my memory of Edmund are from the same day. "I wish I could remember Susan." I say, trying to change the subject and lighten his mood.

He nods. "You two were great friends. She just adored you…I overheard her still talking about you from time to time back in England."

"Overheard?"

Edmund freezes up slightly again, like I've stubbed upon something I am not supposed to know. The king clears his throat. "So, are there any other questions you would like to ask?"

So, it is his turn to change the subject. Touche.

I nod slightly and lean forward on the cushion, close to Edmund to show that I am serious. The king comes closer too, his dark eyes are full of curiosity. "What aren't you tell me, Ed?"

The king purses his lips but does not take his eyes away from mine. He shakes his slightly. "Lot of things, Lina. Lots of things." Edmund reaches up and runs his thumb across my cheek quickly before simpering up at me. "I want you to know, believe me. You just have to figure out the right questions to ask to figure out what these things are."

The king stands up and I remain where I am, to be honest, kind of stunned. Edmund walks towards the door and I stop him just as he makes it there. "If you want me to know why don't you just tell me and be done with it?"

His eyes turn back and capture my green ones. "The past shouldn't affect the future, Lina…you said that and I realize that now." He does a half shrug. "Plus, based on what I have seen…with you… I'm not even sure you'll want to know anymore."

He opens the door and exits, leaving me with a new sense of curiosity and bewilderment.

What the heck just happened?

Okay, so I know I said that I am okay with not knowing what happened when I was in Narnia before but now, after Edmund said that he would tell me whatever I wanted, answer all my questions, I have to know.

I am going to put the pieces together.

And when I do…well, I'm not exactly sure. Edmund says that I might not want to know because of—should I say recent events? And if I don't know I'm pretty sure I will go crazy with the uncertainty.

Regardless, I have to know full story.

I need to know.

I will know.

* * *

**Please tell me what you think! And once again, I hope you enjoyed it! I didn't proofread it as well as other chapters because I was trying to get it out to you all quickly but I hope there weren't too many errors! Thanks again! **


	6. A Change is Going to Come

**Hello readers! I am beyond sorry for the long wait you have had for this chapter. Life, as always, gets in the way of my writing and I have very little time to accomplish anything. I hope you forgive me and are ready for the next chapter!**

**Okay, here we go!**

* * *

Days passed on the Dawn Treader and, besides talking to Caspian, I kept to myself a lot of the time. My head has been buried in the leather bound history book where my short little story resides. I read it, along with other Narnian stories of old and still nothing seems to make me remember.

I know I can just ask Edmund, that he has given me his blessing to, but something about our last serious conversation makes me think he is still hiding something from me. The king says to trust him and I do…with my life, not with my past. So I am doing the research by myself and working Caspian over, trying to get what little I can out of him. He doesn't know much, of course, but he has told me about the Pevensie's and the people that they are.

He tells me about Peter and how the two of them butted heads often over control over silly things like armies and countries; they were both Alpha males and fought to be dominate all the time. Overall, Peter is given Caspian's stamp of approval before he leaves Narnia for good, though; he is strong and brave and those are the qualities of a strong ruler according to the High Kind of Old.

And then there is Susan. Oh, does Caspian have rave reviews about Susan. He says that she is beautiful, kind, gentle, but also fierce in battle. "She is everything a queen should be and more." He says, looking down at his hands as we sit at the table up on the helm. I study his face as he thinks back on the Narnian High Queen of Old.

"Caspian?" I prompt, calling him out of his thoughts. The king looks at me quizzically. "You cared about her, didn't you? She was the woman that you loved."

The man smiles slightly and looks out to sea. "That's all in the past now, isn't it?"

In this moment, I feel so incredibly sad for Caspian. He loved Susan and lost her; she went away from these lands and will never return. It must be so hard to know you can never be with the person you love no matter how hard you try and have to give them up. I am heartbroken for him.

I reach across the table and take his hand in my own. The king finally looks at me. "Edmund told me that the past never truly lies in the past and I believe that…it's okay to feel sad, Caspian."

"Oh, I'm not sad." The king explains. "Just excepting of what never will be…I guess I'm like you in that way, correct?"

I chuckle then nod. "Yeah, I suppose."

"King Caspian," The Captain calls, causing us both to look up. "We have spotted land, sir."

"Excellent. When shall we anchor?"

"My guess will be in about four hours time, sir."

Caspian nods, thanks him, and the Captain goes back to his duties, leaving both the king and I to watch the horizon for land to be visible to our eyes. "You aren't going to ignore him forever, are you?"

"Who, Edmund?" I ask, not even trying to play dumb with him. I just shrug and continue to look at the speck in the distance that I guess to be the island. "I'm not necessarily ignoring him as much as trying to keep my distance."

"To serve what purpose, though?"

I sigh. "Do we really have to talk about this now? I take it back then. I'm not even keeping my distance, just not going out of my way to have a conversation with him."

The king furrows his eyebrows. "But, Lina, that is practically the same thing."

I can't help but roll my eyes and get up at that moment, no longer wanting to be smothered by the pushiness that is Caspian and his questions. "It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it. Everything is fine."

"If you say so." He responds as I retreat down the stairs.

"I do!" I throw the words over my shoulder along with a wave before finding myself at the lower deck and watching the land get bigger and bigger.

"It will feel like it is getting farther way if you keep looking at it like that." The voice belongs to Edmund and I look around until my eyes find him under the stairs, propped on a barrel with a book in his hands. The younger of the two kings on board does not look up at me. "Trust me, I know."

I nod but then realize he won't see the gesture. "I believe you."

His eyes flinted up then but retreated back down just as quickly. I think my word choice has struck a nerve with him; I had said believe, not trust, like he wants me to. I begin to feel awful because I know how hard he is trying to be my friend and here I am barely putting in the effort to trust him.

I don't mean to, obviously. It's just what comes naturally to me and I need to work on it more than I have been since arriving in Narnia...starting now.

Taking a deep breath, I walk to the dark shade under the steps and lean against the wall. Edmund doesn't look up and I know that it means one of two things: one is that he is mad at me and the other is that he is giving up on me. Deep in my heart I hope it is neither because, somehow, I don't think I can bare either of those options.

"What are you reading?" I ask, taking the initiative and deciding to ask him a question that does not relate to my past.

"A Narnian novel…nothing you would be familiar with." He says, turning the page and reading on. He is giving me the cold shoulder and I deserve it. I realize this as I watch him in this dark corner, alone and brooding, which seems to be his norm.

Suddenly, a flash overtakes me and I am thrust into the Lina of the past.

_I was on a ship, much like the Dawn Treader, and running down a hallway to follow the sounds of laughter. I found myself in a storage area of the ship, searching for the source. _

_ "Hello?" I called but still I got no answer but only fits of uncontrollable laughter. _

_The person__started laughing again as I rounded the last row of crates. I looked down to see Edmund sitting there with a three fourths empty bottle of wine in his hand. I sighed as I collapsed in front of him._

_He continued to laugh hysterically while leaning back against a barrel. When his fit ended he opened his eyes. Once it registered in his mind who I was his face fell and the king narrowed his eyes at me. "Oh, it's __you.__" He slurred._

_I nodded as I took his flushed cheeks in my hands. "Oh, Ed. What did you do to yourself?" I asked quietly._

_He jerked his face away from me and snarled. "Wh-what ddoes it loo-kk like? I'm...drunk."_

_"Yes, that much is clear." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I watched him quietly as he took another swig of wine. "But why?" I asked seriously._

_Edmund glared at me with such intensity that I felt a slight sting in my chest because of it. "Wwhy do you thinkk, Lina?"_

_I looked down at his words. "Edmund..."_

_He laughed. "Th-there you g-go again. Lookin' down at you hands like a li-ttle ch-child." His laughter ended and he took another drink. "Wwhy are yyyou here?"_

_"I was looking for you." I told him._

_Edmund snorted. "Andd wwhy would you be doing tthat? Yyou made yyour choice and I" he motioned to himself with the bottle, sloshing the dark liquid all over his light blue tunic. "was nnot it."_

I come out of the vision and feel very woozy. I bring my hand to my head to steady it but can't seem to. "Ed…" I manage to say his name before I begin to collapse.

"Whoa, easy does it. I've got you." He says as he catches me in his strong arms, his book lays forgotten and on the floor by his feet. "What happened? Are you alright?"

I wrap one arm around Edmund's shoulders to steady myself and the other continues to clutch my head. I'm not sure if it's to contain my dizzy spell or the vision but either way my head was spinning.

"Lina!? For Aslan's sake, talk to me! What is it!?" Edmund says, shaking me slightly.

"I-I'm fine." I say and finally put my hand down. "Everything's okay."

"What happened?" He asks again.

I look over at him and open my mouth, close it, then open it once more. "I had one of my weird flashback things."

Edmund lets go of me now and turns me so he can look down into my eyes directly. "And what did you see?"

"You." I say honestly. "On a ship…you were drunk, like _really_ drunk." I pause, remembering how sad he looked in the memory. "Do you recall that? Or is my mind making things up? I mean, you just don't seem the type to-"

"No, no, that was me." He says, shaking his head. "Again, not one of my proudest moments to be sure." Edmund rubs his mouth, as he too gets lost in this old memory from a time that neither of us has visited in a while. The king freezes. "How far into this memory did you get? We had a conversation while I was… intoxicated..."

I think about telling Edmund about what I heard in the vision, about me making my choice, but decide against it. Like always, I am not sure why my mind makes me do this. It is just a gut feeling that now is not the time. But, then again, didn't I just get done telling myself that I was going to try and do as he says by trusting him? I can't continue being a hypocrite forever and I hate the feeling of being one.

I take a deep breath. "I asked you what you did to yourself and you told me that you were drunk. I responded that that was obvious and asked why and asked back "why do you think?" which made me blush or something and look away. You then got really mad at told me that I was being a child, looking at my hands and stuff."

Edmund nods his head. "Yes, I never held my liquor well. I felt awful about that for a long while." He pauses. "Was there anything else?"

I nod quickly. "Yup."

"Well?"

A deep, shaking breath escapes my lungs. "There might have been something about me picking someone else over you for something. I'm not exactly sure." I rub the back of my neck and shrug. "Whatever it was, it seemed to be the reason for the drinking."

The boy nods, runs his hand over his face, and sighs. "Yes, I remember." Edmund says. "It was a most unpleasant topic that we were discussing and given my current state, I would discuss it no further."

It is my turn to nod, realizing now that we are both on the same page, even though I am still slightly confused as to whom I picked over Edmund and for what reason. And for what exactly?

_Oh, Carolina Foster, don't play dumb. You know exactly what happened. _

My inner voice shocks me when I hear it scold me so openly; but it isn't lying, I do know what the memory is referring too. I can't pretend like I don't.

Edmund loved me in the past and I did not return that love. Instead, I choose another, his brother, Peter. From the memory, it seems that the decision, my decision, had quite the negative effect on him. I instantly feel awful and know that I cannot let him know that I know now what happened in the past; it will only bring back too many bad feelings on both sides.

I had a love in Narnia that I cannot even remember. Though it is quite poetic, it is also quite tragic, as well. And Edmund, well, I never know where his feelings and thoughts lie. It is just best to leave him be and play dumb for now.

"I'm sorry that I brought it up then." I tell him finally.

The king looks over at me and shakes his head. "No, don't be ridiculous, I'm glad you did. Like I said, I want you to talk to me about these things so we can work to restore your memories together." He pauses. "Was there anything else?"

I gaze into his eyes, looking to see what he wanted the answer to be but I can't be sure; I'm sticking with my first instinct. Whether it is he or I, I do not want anyone to get hurt today…or ever. This is something I need to keep to myself for a while, perhaps talk over with Lucy or Caspian before going to Edmund about it.

So, instead, I just shake my head and give him a small smile.

The king nods sternly, a very Edmund-like response, before patting me on the forearm lightly. "I'll go see if I can help the men prepare the long boats."

And just like that he leaves, turning off his friendly affections for me once more. I want to blame him for the coldness that passes between us but know I can't; I know that this is my fault. And just like that I realize that I don't want there to be this distance…it would end up hurting some one…the one thing I don't want to happen.

"Edmund, wait." I say, cringing slightly at the thought of what I am about to tell him. I turn to see that he has paused, facing away from me. He runs a hand through his hair and I hear him sigh. "I lied. I know exactly what we were talking about in that vision."

The king shrugs his shoulders like he doesn't know. "I'm listening."

I pause and then it is my turn to sigh. Taking a step closer so I am now only inches from him, I whisper so no one will overhear. "I decided to be with someone else…someone who wasn't you…" I pause, watching for his reaction. Surprisingly, or really, unsurprisingly for Edmund, he does not seem phased by my confession. "Well?" I question, dying for him to say something.

The king looks away from me for a second; I think he might be trying to find a way out of talking to me but I'm not sure. Finally, he looks back at me and grabs my wrist, pulling me back into the dark cove under the stairs. I'm pinned against the wall and he placed his hand over my shoulder. I look at it before looking at him, confused as to why he was boxing me in like this.

"So, you figured it out then?" He asks, his voice soft to match his dark eyes. "You figured out what happened between us back then?"

"I have my suspicions, yeah."

He tilts his head to me, studying my face for a moment. He is looking for what my 'suspicions' are in my eyes, I can tell. I'm pretty sure he's found his answer when he decides to look down at the ground instead of at me. Edmund takes a deep breath before moving away from me a few steps. "You picked Peter that day, Lina. You couldn't hurt him, you wouldn't."

I bite down on my lower lip. "Oh, I—um—I couldn't because...?"

"Because he did so much for you." The man answers, a half smile on his face. "I couldn't blame you for that, of course, but I didn't take it very well either."

I don't respond at first because I'm not exactly sure what there is for me to say. I look down at my boots, actually they are Caspian's and much too big for me. I had to stuff some parchment into the toes so that they would—

"Lina," Edmund's fingers are under my chin, bringing my eyes up to look at him. He gives me a ghost of a smile. "It's alright. Do not worry about it, okay?" He says.

"Okay." I manage to whisper the word but feel no real meaning behind it. Because it's not all right; I feel awful. The king responds with a nod and then releases my chin before patting my shoulder.

"Never feel sorry for finding love, Lina." Edmund tells me before turning away and heading over to the men who are preparing the long boats that are going to take us ashore.

As Edmund walks away, I have a suspicion that those last parting words have been said to me before…but the strange thing is that I don't think it was this king that spoke them to me.

In this instant I received another image. Just one flash of the handsome blonde man I now know to be Peter sitting next to me and telling me that exact same sentence.

"_Never feel sorry for finding love, Lina." _

Did he say this to me to make me feel better about rejecting Edmund or himself? And if the latter is the case then why is Edmund lying to me?

I watch the younger of the Pevensie kings as he pulls the ropes to bring the long boat from its resting place on the deck to hang over the water and realize that I can't figure him out. Had I before in my past life in Narnia?

As always, I am uncertain. But this uncertainty cannot go on much longer or else I will go mad…I'm sure we both will. When we both have a moment alone, I will talk to him and this will be settled. The cards will be laid on the table once and for all.

* * *

Caspian, the Captain, and Edmund jump out of the long boat to pull us ashore several hours later. Lucy, Eustace, and I wait until we are firmly dug into the sand before we step out onto the hot, humid island. I gaze around at the island as the second long boat approaches land with the rest of the sailors who are coming ashore to attempt to find supplies; by the looks of it, and from what I remember from my geography class Freshman year, this is a volcanic island and they won't find too much.

The island is large, containing mountains, jungle, and beaches that could house a number of different wildlife that may be either friend or foe. The only way to be truly sure what resides here is to explore.

"Spread out, men. Find what food and clean water you can." Caspian says. "I am going to see if I can find any trace of the Lords. If what Lord Bern said is correct, they should have continued in this direction and could very well be here." He paused, looking over at the King and Queen. "Lucy, Edmund, will you be joining me?"

The two Pevensies' nod and start walking over to the reining king. The dark haired man looks at me. "You are coming too, Lina, yes?"

I smile, grab Susan's bow and arrows, and go over to them, as well. Now, that left only Eustace without an occupation. I realized that after what happened on the last island, Caspian would not be asking him to join us and he would be useless to the sailors; so what would he possibly do?

"What about Eustace?" Lucy ends up asking.

"What about him?" Edmund mumbles under his breath.

"Oh, don't worry about me." Eustace says a little too enthusiastically. "I'll just take a look around the island. Get a lay of the land and see how big it is…or something."

I raise an eyebrow because I know that he is up to something—probably just trying to get out of work, possibly more—but won't rat him out on it. Eustace, though annoying and sometime mean, at the heart of it all is just a kid that needs to grow up. I think he'll get there eventually; it'll just take time.

"See you later then," Edmund says before taking his sister's shoulder and turning her so we can get a move on. "Be back before dark."

"Yes, yes. Of course." Eustace says before he too takes off.

So we all go our separate ways.

I walk up front with Caspian as he tries to navigate his way through the jungle-like area that starts to form as we move further away from the beach; Lucy follows us and Edmund brings up the rear.

We continue to walk for about an hour, passing tree after identical jungle tree.

"Do you even know where we are going?" I ask as Caspian takes his sword and chops through some heavy foliage.

The man laughs. "No, I have no clue…Would you like to lead, Lina? Do you think you will have better luck getting us somewhere?" He teases as he holds a branch back for the three of us that are behind him. I stick my tongue out at him as I pass.

"I was just curious..." I whisper more to myself than to him. The man smiles and squeezes my shoulders for reassurance that all is well.

"Lina can lead, Caspian, if you want us to be even more hopelessly lost than we are now." I hear Edmund say from behind and both Caspian and I set him with a glare.

"Edmund, that was not kind." Lucy says.

"Oh, come on, I was kidding." He explains. "I was kidding, Lina. You know that, don't you?"

I look back at the man and give him a fake smile. Though I know he was, in fact, just kidding, I do not like what he, or even Caspian, are implying. "Oh, yes, I know you are kidding, Edmund. Don't worry." I pause, looking from king to king. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go work on getting hopelessly lost all by myself, seeing as I'm a _master _at it."

I take off then, into the forest, by myself. Harboring not only a need to prove a point that I'm not completely useless with directions—which I kind of am, but that can change within the span of time it takes to walk in the jungle-but also a need to find peace and solitude. I have not been by myself in a week and I would just like a moment alone with my thoughts...yet, that did not seem likely to happen.

"Lina, come back!" I hear Edmund shout.

"It was just a joke!" Caspian adds.

"Lina! Oh, look what you lot have done now! If we loose her I will be so mad at you!" Lucy screams at the two and I can almost picture them step away from the tiny girl as she yelled like two schoolboys being scolded by their teacher.

I keep walking, tripping over vines at the same time as branches scratched across my face while trying to maneuver the bit of vegetation. How had Caspian made it look so easy?

Finally, I see a break in the branches and a clearing soon follows, looking like open air after being under water for a long time. The clearing is grassy, surprisingly for such volcanic island, and surrounded by the jungle on three sides. The remaining side, however, had a very large mountain, raising many hundreds of feet into the sky. I stare up at the top before my eyes go down to the bottom and see that there is a cave before me, the mouth of it deep and wide.

I take a step closer, peering into the darkness. Something is strange about this cave but I can't seem to put my finger on it just yet.

From somewhere in the distance, I hear Edmund calling my name but I ignore it and take a closer look. I am at the mouth of the cave now and searching around for something out of the normal. I'm not even sure why I feel the need to do this but something was just telling me that I had to explore.

The cave seems normal enough and I start to think I'm being paranoid and turn away, preparing to go back to the men and Lucy, when I hear the roar of a lion echo from the inside of the cave. I spin around, gasping, and ready to die from whatever is about to attack me.

But nothing is there. There is no animal there to terrorize me or kill me. I'm about to call myself crazy when the back of my neck heats slightly; instinctively, my hand goes back to touch the tattoo that resides there and I instantly know what has happened here.

It can all be summed up into one word: Aslan.

Slowly, I go back to the mouth of the cave and investigate it once more. The first time I was there I didn't see anything, but now that I look again, now that the lion has brought me back, I see a dark clump of fabric bunched up next to a rock. I go over to it, pick it up, and find out that it is a large cloak—a man's cloak. My eyes go from the cave to the cloak and then back again before I realize what I have just stumbled upon, what Aslan wanted me to stumble upon.

The Lords have been here…they might still be here.

I have to go get the others.

"Edmund! Lucy! Caspian!" I call to them, running back into the woods at the same time. The jungle is thick and I can't see very far ahead of me but I still continue on as quickly as I can. "Lucy! Caspian!" I shout once more. My feet pick up their speed as I feel the bizarre need to be back with my companions after just wanting to be alone. But I have to find them; this is so important for all of us.

"Ed-!" My scream is cut off…because my foot has caught on a vine…and I am now falling. I feel myself shoot forward, through the thick foliage. The next thing that should happen is for my face to make contact with the forest floor but instead I feel myself land against a solid chest and arms wrap tightly around me.

My eyes go up to see that it is Edmund who caught me and, thankfully, saved me from a nasty fall.

"Lina, what on earth-? Are you all right? Are you hurt?" He takes me at arm's length and examines me. I shake my head and wave him off, letting him know that it is not important.

"I'm fine. Where are the others?"

The king is just about to answer my question when Lucy and Caspian burst through the trees just beyond him, both winded from the looks of it. "What is going on?" Caspian asks.

I take a deep breath as an attempt to slow down my own racing heart.

"Come with me…I think I've found something."

* * *

**So, there you have it! Lina finally knows (kinda) about her history with Edmund. I realize that some of you are going to be upset that she is not head-over-heels for him again right when she figures it out but what do you expect? The girl doesn't remember him! I hope no one is too disappointed. Hopefully the next updated is a much shorter wait…I'll try my best! Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review! **


	7. The Heart of the Matter

**Hello readers! I am beyond sorry for the long wait you have had for this chapter. Life, as always, gets in the way of my writing and I have very little time to accomplish anything. I hope you forgive me and are ready for the next chapter!**

**Okay, here we go!**

* * *

The four of us stand in front of the cave and peer into the darkness. Caspian and Edmund both have their swords drawn but I don't think they will need them. There is nothing within that cavern that will hurt us. At least, that is what I am hoping.

"So, are we going to go in or are we just going to stand here and wait for something to come out?" I ask, looking up at Edmund as he squints harder to try and catch a glimpse of something.

"You are quite sure Aslan was the one that called you in here?"

"No." I admit. "But I don't know of any other lions that would roar at a person and then not try to make a snack of them."

"I think it was him." Lucy adds. "I say we go in."

"Of course you do, Lu. You're not the one who is going to have to fight whatever is in there." Edmund takes another step forward and kicks a stone into the pit.

"There is nothing in there. Stop being so…so…" I couldn't think of the right word to say that wouldn't sound rude or mean. My mouth ends up just closing.

"So what, Lina? Cautious or scared?" Edmund has caught on to where I was headed with my statement and I feel a blush start to rise in my cheeks.

"Oh, come on, Edmund. Find that sense of adventure I know you have and just go in. No one is overanalyzing this like you are."

"Yes, that is because no one overanalyzes a situation quite like Edmund." Caspian sighs. "Well, I have had enough of this waiting game. I shall go in with you girls with or without the Just King." The current king of Narnia takes a step in. "Shall we?"

I look over at Lucy who looks over at her brother and then shrugs. She follows Caspian into the black pit and I stand there with the younger of the men, setting him with a stern look. "Come on, then. You could be surprised what you find in there, Edmund."

"I'm sure I will be." Edmund explains. I roll my eyes once more before taking him by the hand and dragging him in. It is strange, I think, that I have such a good feel about the cavern while Edmund has such a bad one. I wonder what he feels that the rest of us don't?

Edmund and I venture in, following Caspian and Lucy who are already a pretty good distance in. Caspian has his sword drawn and held out in front of him while Lucy just calmly walks as if it were a stroll in the park, trusting completely in Aslan.

The king next to me is quiet, on his guard every second for an enemy or obstacle that none of us thought was going to appear. "Why are you so on edge?"

"Just a feeling." He says.

"Just a feeling." I repeat, nodding my head.

"You think I am being ridiculous." It is a statement of fact from the king, not a question.

I shake my head. "No, I wouldn't say that. I just think you could lighten up a bit."

It is now Edmund's turn to laugh and I wish I knew why he is doing so. "Yes, of course, you do, Lina. We have fought about such things before."

I tried to will the memory into my brain but I can't make it happen; unfortunately, my mind does not work like a movie screen. Instead, I just sigh. "I'm sure we have. We were friends, after all."

Edmund's brown eyes flinted my way for a second, like he wants to say something, but he ends up just giving me a quick nod.

Lucy and Caspian have disappeared around a corner and I hear Lucy's voice call to us a second later. "Ed! Lina! Come quickly!"

Edmund and I exchange a wide-eyed glance before breaking into a run. "Lu, you okay!?" Edmund asks as he rounds the corner they just had and I come around shortly after him. We both stop short when we see the pair standing at the edge of a pool of water, staring into it.

From here it didn't look like anything special, just water in a cave. But once I get closer, I see that there is gold at the bottom of the pool—tons of it. But it's not actually what you would expect when you would find gold; they are not golden nuggets, but objects, and strange ones at that. They are everyday objects, things you would find on a person or on the jungle floor, just encrusted with gold.

"Caspian! Look over here! I've found something!" Lucy exclaims, calling not only the eldest king over to her but also Edmund and I. We race to her and see where she is pointing; the girl is directing our attention to the only thing within the pool that is not golden. It is a sword.

"Oh, my goodness. That's it." I breathe out, relieved to find something good within the miles and miles of miserable jungle on this island.

"The Lord's sword…without the Lord." Caspian says slowly, like he is confused. "Why would he leave it and continue on?"

"I think you are asking the wrong question." I tell him. "I think the real one is 'why haven't we gone in and got it yet?'" I take a step towards the pool, about to reach in and grab for it, when Edmund gasps and snatches me away from the edge.

I look back at him with a raised eyebrow and he nods in the opposite direction from the one we had come in from. I turn to look in a darker corner of the cavern and see a golden statue kneeling at the pool, much the same as I had.

At first I wonder what the statue has to do with me but then I look back and see all of the seemingly normal objects in the pool and realize that Edmund is on to something and the water might have something wrong with it, a magical property perhaps.

Edmund lets go of my arm and begins looking around at the ground, searching for something. The man eventually finds a spiraling shell and picks it up. He dips the shell into the water, being careful not to make contact with his skin, before setting it down on the rocky ground. It only takes a second or two before the shell begins to morph and change into something different—gold.

The younger of the kings picks it back up, staring at the thing he had just figured out about the pool. His eyes are wide and I can almost see the gears in his brain working away.

"What are you staring at?" Lucy asks.

"Oh, I have a guess." I whisper to her, standing up and taking a step away from the king who is so entranced by the gold.

Edmund's eyes flick from the shell to the two of us and then to the water. "Whoever has access to this pool could be the most powerful person in the world."

Lucy opens her mouth to say something but can't seem to find the words. My eyes turn to Caspian who returns my gaze. The man looks worried, like he thinks Edmund has gone off his rocker. By the sound of it, I'm starting to think he has too.

"Lucy," Edmund's voice calls all of our attentions back to him again. "We'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do or who to live with." His eyes then come to me. "You could leave your parents' house, too, Lina. You could start your own life away from them and be free."

"You aren't going to take anything out of Narnia, Edmund." Caspian's voice is calm, collected, but I can tell he is on the brink of loosing his cool.

Edmund is not in his right mind. We all can tell this. At this very second, Lucy moves towards him as if she wishes to comfort her brother. I, on the other hand, have never felt more distant from the king; it's like I don't know him at all.

The elder of the Pevensies' eyes are back on the golden shell in his hands. "Says who?" He spits.

"I do." Caspian replies.

Edmund looks up at him, fire burning in his eyes. The boy's face hardens as he stands up and nods. "Oh, yes, I see. You are telling me what to do, is that it?" He scoffs. "You and Peter always telling me what to do. Well, guess what? I'm a king too."

"Edmund-" Lucy tries to stop his rant but he quiets her with a wave of his hand. She is now at his side and I am standing close by the whole scene.

"Edmund, you are not yourself. Let's just go and-" Caspian places his hand on the other king's shoulder but Edmund shoved it off of him and reached for his sword.

In response, Caspian withdraws his own sword and now they are pointing them at each other's necks. Lucy and I both rush in. The girl goes to her brother and I place a hand on Caspian, trying to get him to lower his arm but he steps out of my reach.

"You have been waiting for this, haven't you? A chance to challenge me for one reason or another. You doubt my leadership." Caspian says.

"You doubt yourself!"

"You are a child!"

"Edmund!" Lucy tries to come to her brother's aid but he pushes her away too.

"I'm done playing second fiddle!" Edmund shouts. " I've braver than both you or Peter. I deserve a kingdom of my own! I deserve to rule!"

Caspian scoffs. "If you think you are so brave then prove it."

Caspian steps towards Edmund but I place myself between them. I put my hands on either side of Caspian's face and force him to look down at me. Lucy is next to Edmund and trying to force his hand down as well.

"Caspian, this is madness." I say. "He's sick. Please, just put it away. Just stop."

My friend looks down at me, sighs, and does as I have asked after taking several deep breaths. Edmund, however, seems to be needing a little more persuading by his little sister. His sword is still out and he glares at the king beside me.

"I was a king long before you, Caspian. Remember that. You are just some pretender from-"

"That's it!" I exclaim. "I've had enough."

I go to Edmund and snatch his sword away from him before he even knows what has occurred. With my free hand, I reach up and slap him across the face. His head slams to the side before he turns back to me. His glare turns to a stunned gaze. "What-?"

"Outside now, Edmund." I demand.

"What? No."

"I'm not asking." I tell him. I nod in the direction of the entrance of the cave. "Now." My voice is stern and I imagine I am giving a look I'd seen my mother set on me a thousand and one times.

The boy glares but starts to slowly walk back the way we came in. I sigh before turning to Lucy to hand her Edmund's sword. "Give us a five minute head start so he can cool off and then we'll meet you out there."

Lucy nods and takes the sword from me for safekeeping. The girl looks down at her hands. "All right. We shall get the sword out of the pool and then join you directly." The girl pauses. "This isn't him, Lina. This isn't Edmund…it must be this place…the evil, the mist."

I smile at her. "I know, hon. I know."

It is then my turn to take my leave and I follow Edmund down the passage and into the bright late afternoon sun. The man is standing, face away from me, with his arms crossed. I walk over to stand next to him and give it a second before talking. By now I assume whatever magical hold the mist creature had on him in the cave is worn off. "Feeling better?"

The king blinks a few times before looking my way.

"Yes, actually, I am."

"Good." I say before going over to a nearby boulder at the mouth of the cave and sitting down. I know it will still be a few moments until Caspian and Lucy fish out the Lord's sword.

Edmund keeps his distance. He continues to look out over the jungle with his arms crossed tensely over his broad chest. "Those things that I said in there…I didn't mean them."

"Sure, you did." I reply.

The man turns to me. He comes over to me and leans down before me. "Lina, believe me when I say that I didn't mean those things. Please."

I tilt my head to him and shake it slowly. "Edmund, somewhere deep down inside you meant what you said…nothing we say is completely made up." I pause and stand up, shrugging my shoulders. "To be honest, it scares the hell out of me to see this side of you."

King Edmund narrows his eyes, confused. "But you have before, Lina. You've seen and you've known. You know that I am only human…I have both good and bad, like everyone else."

"And you know how I'm going to respond to that, right?" I ask.

Edmund's face falls numb because he does, in fact, know. "You don't remember that side of me."

"And even if I did I'm sure I still wouldn't like it." I roll my eyes and turn my back to him, walking away.

"So, you're mad at me? You're taking _his _side?"

"No, I'm not taking any side but yes, I'm mad at you." I spin back to him, fuming. "The way you acted was completely below you, Edmund, and the things that you said made me wonder what you truly care about."

"I care about you, Lina! Do you not understand that?"

"I do understand, Edmund. Really, I do." I respond. "And I care about you but clearly I know nothing about you. And honestly that scares me because if you are hiding that part of yourself from me then I can't help but wonder what else you could be hiding from me." I pause. "And we both know that you are hiding thing from me even though you are pretending you aren't, right?"

He takes a deep breath; he's been caught. "Listen to me very closely, Lina. I-"

"Got it!" Lucy exclaims as she comes out of the mouth of the cave with Caspian close behind her with the Lord's sword in his hand.

The two look like victors returning from battle while I'm sure Edmund and I look like children fighting over who stole whose toy. I scratch the top my head for no other reason really than because I have nothing better to do. "That's great. So we can get going?"

"Sure." Caspian says questioningly, one eyebrow rose while he looks over Edmund and myself. "We'll go back to the ship and be on our way. I'm sure the crew didn't find much in the way of supplies anyway so we'll have to keep moving so we can find food and water on another island."

The thought of getting on the boat again so soon after we landed makes my heart sink but I won't complain about it. After all, what would my whining help in a situation such as this? Instead, I just nod and begin to walk back in the direction that we had come in, leaving Edmund and our argument behind me.

"Lina, the shore is this way." Caspian corrects me, pointing to the direction closest to him and smiles slightly.

I shake my head as the thought of Edmund saying I have no sense of direction comes back into my mind. "Of course it is." Going over to the elder king, I fall into step next to him and the Pevensies' do the same behind us.

We all walk in silence for a while because nothing could really be said after what transpired in the caves. It is safe for me to say that Edmund is mad at Caspian and himself and Caspian and I unfortunately cannot help that we are mad at Edmund. Lucy, on the other hand, probably feels awful about the whole thing and will until everyone makes up; she will probably be the reason I talk to Edmund sooner rather than later actually.

"So, what exactly did Lucy and I come in on outside of the caves?" Caspian whispers to me with a slight curiosity in his voice.

I look back at the brother and sister pair to make sure that they are far enough behind us to have not overheard what the king has asked before giving him an answer. "It was nothing."

Caspian nods slowly, not totally believing. "Well if you aren't going to tell me the truth at least ensure me that everything is all right?" The king stops at the bit of path in front of us and pulls a few branches a side to reveal the strip of beach where we had left the others.

I chuckle as I walk past him and into the open area. "You caught on to that much, huh?" I shrug. "It's the same old story with him, Caspian. I'm tired of telling it."

Caspian looks like he is about to say something when a terrible sound echoes through the air. Our eyes go upwards, confused and searching for the source, and at first I see nothing. But then to my left, over the large mountains a flying figure appears and begins to swoop towards us.

I know what that is.

I had seen it in books and in movies.

I just can't admit to myself what it is; this is a creature too ridiculous to believe in in Narnia.

"What is going on?" Edmund asks as he, followed closely by Lucy, rushes from the tree line.

I walk further down the beach and squint into the sunlight at the beast that is getting bigger and bigger as it flies closer. Edmund comes to stand next to me and stare. "Edmund? Is that a-?"

The creature roars again and cuts off the rest of my question off.

But I didn't need to finish asking, because Edmund already knew.

"Dragon!"

The thing swoops down towards us, out of the sun's brightest light, and that is when I get a good look at the giant red beast. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Run!" Edmund yells as he grabs my hand and starts to make his way back to the trees where Lucy and Caspian and waiting for us.

I look back and see that the dragon is gaining on us, only fifty feet away now and coming down closer. His clawed feet are out and ready to snatch—

"Edmund!" I cry, calling his attention back to it.

The king looks back too and sees what I have. The next thing I know Edmund pushes me to the ground right as the dragon reaches us. The creature's claws wrap around Edmund's torso and grab him before rising back up into the air and flying away.

"Edmund!" I cry out again.

But it's no use. The dragon is already flying back over the mountain ridge where it had come from. Caspian and Lucy race over to me and we all stare at the spot where the dragon is disappearing before it is gone all together.

I turn to look at Caspian and he shakes his head sympathetically. "We have to do something!" I shout.

"Lina-" He says my name soothingly and tries to lay a hand on my shoulder but a step out of his reach.

"No! We have to go after him! We have to get him back, Caspian!"

A panic begins to flood through my body as an icy cold thought races over and over in my mind. _This is your fault, Carolina Foster. He wouldn't have been out there if it weren't for you. _

"Lina-" It was Lucy's turn to try and calm me but when I get in a state such as this it is too late. Holy crap, where is a paper bag when you need one?

_If Edmund dies mad at me I'll never be able to forgiver myself. If Edmund dies period I'll…I don't know what I'll do._

"Lucy, you understand, don't you? We have-"

"Lina!" The girl comes over and shakes my shoulders. "Look!" The girl turns me back to the mountains and points to the dragon…it is coming back this way.

I squint to see if I can make out the shape of Edmund in its grasp but can't tell yet. The dragon begins to head in the direction of a wide expansion of beach and that is when I see that Edmund is, in fact, still clutched in his claw. The dragon hoovers above the ground several feet before it drops Edmund.

The king shuffles back to his feet before getting out of the way so the dragon can land. But instead of doing so on his feet, the dragon kind of falls, hitting the ground hard and causing the ground to shake around him.

Lucy and I rush over to Edmund while Caspian goes to the dragon with his sword raised, about to strike at it. The dragon shrinks away and closes its eyes.

"No, don't!" Edmund screams as he holds out his arm to stop the blow. "It's Eustace."

"Eustace?" Lucy asks as she comes up to observe the dragon too. "How on earth is that possible?"

Edmund shrugs but Caspian seems to know the answer. He walks closer to the dragon, I mean Eustace, and looks at its leg. "It is dragon's treasure…enchanted."

"Can he be turned back?" Lucy questions.

Caspian sighs. "I am not sure."

Edmund shakes his head. "Aunt Alberta will not be pleased."

Caspian speaks again. "Let us regroup and then we will see if they know." He motions for Eustace to get up. "Come on, then."

On shaky legs, Eustace stands and follows Caspian over to the rest of the crewmen who are beginning to emerge from their hiding places after seeing us safely with the dragon. Lucy goes with, walking next to her cousin.

Edmund begins to journey that way too but I grab his wrist to stop him. He spins back to me with a confused look on his face like he has no idea what I could possible want from him. I stumble for a second and try to find the words to say but nothing comes out.

Instead, I just jump into his arms and wrap him in a hug; it is the only thing I can think of to do at that moment. As always at my touch, the man tenses and then relaxes. I hold on a second longer, just long enough to whisper to him. "I'm sorry."

I hear the king sigh and he finally wraps his arms around my waist to return my embrace. "All is forgive, Lina, as it always is." He pulls me away at arm's length. "That is, if you can forgive me, as well."

I give him a half smile and nod. "Let's just forget the whole thing."

"Sounds great. That is settled then." He nods in the direction of the others now. "We best get over there and see what they are going to do about this little problem."

I give Eustace a look. "Little is not exactly the adjective I would use."

Edmund chuckles and we go over to the group to overhear their discussion of what to do next with poor Eustace. The dragon sits next to the tiny mouse with his head hanging low as the Captain speaks. "There is nothing to be done about it right now."

"Well, we cannot just leave him like this." Lucy interjects. "He's my cousin. We have to think of something."

"I'm sorry, Queen Lucy, but there is nothing _to _do here. All we can do is keep looking and hope one of the islands ahead of us holds some sort of answer." The Captain explains before looking up to the fading sunlight. "It is going to be dark soon. Might I suggest that we go back to the boat and retire for the night then pick up our journey in the morning?"

"But Eustace cannot be on the boat. He is too big."

"I will volunteer to stay on the shore and keep him company tonight, my queen." Reepicheep says.

"Thank you, Reep. I shall stay with you, too." With a sweet smile, the queen replies to the mouse.

I look over at Edmund and shrug. "Slump party on the beach it is."

"But you all shall freeze." The Captain insists.

Just then, Eustace perks up. The dragon boy looks around for a second before his eyes find a pile of dry driftwood. He takes a deep breath in and exhales a huge line of flames that instantly ignites the pile into a nice little campfire.

Caspian laughs. "I think we will be well looked after tonight, after all."

* * *

Caspian, Reep, and Edmund go back to the ship for some supplies and then we all settle back onto the beach—around the warm fire, thanks to Eustace—for the night. I am lying on my back, looking up at the stars. I think everyone is asleep because it has been at least an hour since we all went silent but I am wrong; two whispering voices can be heard from several feet over.

At first I couldn't think of who it could be but then I hear that the voices are distinctively masculine and I know that it is Edmund and Caspian. I cannot figure out what it is they are talking about for sure but the fact of the matter is that they are talking again after this afternoon's debacle in the cave. It seemed for them that all will be forgiven too.

But everything is still not how it should be. Eustace is a dragon, the Lords and the swords are still missing, and the mystery of the mist that stole those people from the Lone Islands were still upon us.

"You're still awake." Edmund's voice is now close as he comes and sits down next to me.

I blink a few times before rolling over onto my side to face him. "Yes, you and Caspian are, too, I see."

He shakes his head. "Caspian just went to sleep. It's just you and I now."

I nod as I settle deeper into my blanket and sigh.

"What were you thinking about?" Edmund asks.

"Just how screwed up things can be…It's negative, I realize. I get that way sometimes."

"Yes. Yes, I know." Edmund says, bringing my attention up to his dark eyes that are glowing in the fire's burning light. The king slides down to lay next to me. "Can I tell you a story, Lina?"

"Okay."

"Today when we left the caves and you began to yell at me...it reminded me of something and I received a flash from the past for a change instead of you."

"Was it about me?" I question and the king nods.

"There was this time when you went missing from Cair Paravel. The whole place was in an uproar trying to find you, especially my siblings. I guess you and my sister had spent the afternoon down by at the beach and you had fallen asleep; it was I who had found you down there and I became very upset."

"Why? It was an honest mistake." I say, which causes Edmund to chuckle.

"Yes, I know that but I was angry that such a tiny creature had put such a large castle into that sort of panic and…well, I was worried too. I found you and yelled at you. As always, you were very courteous and then teased me good-naturedly, said I needed to lighten up or something which only made me even madder."

Edmund tilts his head closer to me. "Peter always told me I was too uptight and it infuriated me that you had lumped yourself with him, you see." He settles back down and continues with the story. "So, we began to walk up to the castle and you slipped and bumped into me. This, Lina, was my breaking point.

"I insulted you before telling you that you needed to watch what you said because you didn't know where people came from or what they had experienced in their lives but, of course, you had me all figured." Edmund gives me a half smile. "I don't know how but you had me figured out from day one even though you always stayed at a distance for me."

"So, what was it that I had figured out about you?" I question.

Edmund's face tightens and he rolls onto his back as he thinks of the question. "I'll never forget what you said that day, Lina." He pauses to roll back over to face me. "You said 'Well obviously you are a survivor. You wear it so well on your face that it is practically written on your forehead. But the question is what did you survive that left you as a boring old man? I'm going to guess it was a girl.' You said those words and I was done. You won that battle."

To think that Edmund and I were once at war seems strange. Sure, we fought but to battle? I can't think it plausible. And Edmund? Having a girlfriend of some sort? That was something I have never thought of, well, at least not in this lifetime.

"Who was she? This girl that you survived." I ask the question carefully because I'm not sure whether or not he will be able to answer. Whatever the issue with her is, it still seemed pretty close to the heart.

"She was not so much a girl as a woman." He explains and I raise an eyebrow. "You know of her. She was the White Witch. She is the one that made me this way, serious and cautious, and it is preferable to being foolish and childish." He pauses to shake his head. "I betrayed my siblings for her and then stood by and watched as she did things, horrible things. She promised me power and after her I promised I would never be tempted by it again...but today I was."

"Ed…" I reach over and grab his hand to try and comfort the king. "I've read the stories of the battle with the Witch. They say that you nearly died trying to stop her. You should be proud of yourself for what you did."

Edmund nods. "It does not take away the guilt, Lina."

I'm laying here looking at him, trying to think of something helpful to say but nothing comes to mind. After all, what can you say to make someone feel better for something that is out of their control and yours? So, instead, it becomes another one of those moments-one of those moments where I replace words with an embrace.

I crawl closer to Edmund and hover there for a moment, just looking at him. Then, gingerly, I lower my head to rest on his chest and even slower wrap my around his waist. "Is this okay?" I ask cautiously, not sure if Edmund is going to want me near him or will prefer his own space now.

In response, he wraps an arm around my shoulders. "Yes, Lina."

I nod against his chest. It occurs to me then just how difficult it must have been for the king to tell me all of those things. Like me, he doesn't like to talk, especially about himself and his feelings. To tell me such a deep and personal story as that must have been very hard for the man and I respect him a great deal for doing so. "Thanks for telling me that story."

The king sighs. "You're welcome."

We are quiet for a moment, just lying there, when something Edmund had said comes back into my memory. "And just for the record you do know me, Edmund." I look up at him. "Earlier you said that I was always at a distance…it seems you had me pretty well figured out regardless of my inability to let people in."

"Right, I know the 'fun facts' as you called them."

I shrugged. "Not all the fun but facts just the same." I begin to get up but I feel Edmund's arm tighten around my shoulder.

"Not just yet…please?"

This is a bad idea to let him do this; I know it is. But he is hurting and, to be honest, it is nice to be wrapped in someone's comforting arms when I am so far from home. "Alright, a couple more minutes." I say.

I lie back down and listen to the rhythmic sound of Edmund's breathing. His chest goes up and down, up and down, in a way that is so calming that I forget all about the troubles that run ramped through my mind and instead fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

**So, a lot is going on in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think! Thank you so much for reading!**


	8. You Gotta Go There To Come Back

**Hey guys! I am there are not enough so's to put in front of sorry to tell you how sorry I am for this long wait. Between school (finals, ewww) and the holidays, plus a nasty illness that put me out of commission for a bit, writing has been quite low on my list of things to get done. But finally here is a new chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoy it! **

**Here we go!**

* * *

The next morning I wake up with an arm around my waist and a body pressing against my side, the feeling of warmth overwhelming me in the rising desert island sun.

I groan as I roll away from the person and out of the arm's grasp. My eyes begin to flutter open as I awaken slowly.

But then, I am altogether wide-awake at what I see three inches from my face.

I scream at the surprise of seeing a very human and very naked Eustace lying next to me. The boy wakes too, followed by everyone else on the beach camp, and we all shoot to a sitting position.

"What? What? What is it?" Eustace shouts as he stands and begins to run around in a tight circle.

"Oh, my gosh! Eustace! You are naked!" I say as I rush to turn away from him. I am now facing Edmund and realizing that he was the warm body whose arms I had been lying in a moment earlier.

The king's eyes are bright with adrenaline now but as his eyes flash away from his cousin they meet mine and he smiles slightly. I return the smile but am not sure what exactly we are smiling about.

"What!? What are you talking about? I am not—Oh, good Heavens! I am naked!" Eustace screams behind me and I hear him scurry about as he tries to find something to cover his body with. "Why am I naked!?"

Caspian laughs, shaking his head slightly, and stands before shaking out the blanket that he had used as a bed the night before. "I think I would be more concerned with the fact that you are once again human, Eustace, than your lack of clothing." He tossed the blanket to the boy and I feel safe to turn around. It is only now that I realize that the boy is, in fact, a boy again and not a dragon.

Eustace has the blanket wrapped around his waist and is now looking at his arms, kind of feeling them to make sure that they are solid. He raises an eyebrow as he tries to figure out what happened while we had slept. "But how?"

"Aslan." Lucy says, coming over to our little huddle with Reepicheep. "He must have changed you back during the night."

A lion changing a boy back from being a dragon seems like something that a person would question in a normal, everyday life but not in Narnia. We all nod, happy that the Great Lion would be so gracious to the boy who had made a mistake the day before. Although I'm not sure why Aslan changed him back instead of allowing us to figure it out for ourselves, I don't question it for long.

I watch Eustace as he gets readjusted to his body and limbs; he seems stunned to be human again, as well. The boy sits down, taking a deep breath of relief. He looks around the beach, giving each of us there a good once over, and then smiles slightly like he has figured something out.

There is something in his face, in his eyes most specifically, that show his time as a dragon changed Eustace. He's not the same as he was before. I'm not sure what this means for his future in Narnia or with our company but I hope he will have a better attitude.

The boy takes a deep breath and then scratches the top of his head. "Well then, shall we get ready to move on then? Lots of places to go, Lords to find…swords…you know."

Edmund raises an eyebrow, I think realizing the same thing about his cousin that I had. The king nods, stands, and shakes the sand from his clothes. "Yes, that is a good idea. We best get moving."

Caspian, Lucy, and Reep agree and begin to collect their things. I grab the blanket that I had been laying on, the one that was dangerously close to Edmund's, and make to stand up.

I turn to right myself when I see Edmund's hand in front of my face, outstretched and waiting. "Allow me." He says.

I look from his hand to his eyes and then back again before I just scramble to my feet quickly. "It's okay, I've got it. Thanks." The words are mumbled as the escape my mouth.

I don't know why but I am not ready to touch him again just yet.

Edmund takes his hand back slowly and nods. "Alright." He says quietly, giving me a look that I know all to well; it's a look that means he knows what I am thinking and feeling. I hate that he knows what I am thinking and feeling.

"Are you ready, then?" Caspian asks, coming over to us. "All we have to do is load up into the long boat and we are ready to go back to the ship." He leans in a little closer. "I think Eustace is a little anxious to get some clothes on."

I look back at the poor guy wrapped in a blanket. "I think we are all a little anxious to get him in some clothes."

Caspian looks at Eustace too and sighs. "Yes, I believe you are right, Lina." He gives me a wink. "Here, allow me to take your things."

I thank him and Caspian goes on his way, leaving Edmund and I alone since Lucy, Reep, and Eustace have also went over to the boat, as well. The king is picking up the last of his things and trying his best to rid the sand from them.

"No matter how much you shake this stuff out, I'm afraid you are going to be finding sand in it for another two weeks." I say, taking his vest from him and swatting it a bit. Several specks of sand fall; but, I know there are tons more to be found in the seams and pockets.

The man chuckles. "Yes, I am sure you are correct." He tilts his head towards me questioningly, and then shakes it before walking towards the boat.

I wonder what this is all about, curious why he is studying me in such a way, but don't wonder for too long. It has something to do with last night, that much is obvious. The only thing to question is where he stood. But, after a night of sleeping on a beach wrapped in Edmund's arms, my back is quite messed up and my mind isn't fairing much better.

Something is there between Edmund and I; that much is clear. But I'm just not sure if I'm ready for something to be.

"Lina, come on!" Lucy calls to me from the boat.

I turn and see that Caspian and Edmund are waiting on shore to push the long boat into the water and I am delaying them.

"Right, sorry." I say back and walk over, clutching onto Edmund's vest the entire time.

* * *

We have been traveling on the sea for several hours now and are due to arrive on our next island by nightfall, surprisingly enough.

The crew is calm and my companions are all spread out, doing their own thing. Reepicheep and Eustace are sitting are the front of the ship, looking out at the water and talking, while Caspian stands with the Captain and tries to figure out our next move; we now have two swords but where are we going to find the rest? Lucy is in our room, I know, sleeping after a restless night of worrying about her cousin. Which leaves Edmund as the only one who is unaccounted for.

I am laying on the least busy part of the deck, soaking in some bright morning sun before it gets too hot, and wondering how long this peace will last. It always seems that just when I get comfortable—

"Hello, Lina."

One of my eyes peak open and see Edmund standing above me.

"Hey, Ed." I say, sitting up.

I told you; whenever he is missing, he always turns up. The king is dependable in that way, I suppose.

It just hits me then—one of my flashes.

_I was walking around a foreign city with Edmund_ _by my side. By the looks of it the Arabian architecture, we must have been in Tashbaan. Nothing special was going on, we just kept walking down the streets and taking in the sights, sounds, and surprisingly good—and spicy—smells of the capitol city. _

_ After a moment, I seemed confused. _

_ "Hey, Ed." I started. "I think we were just on this street a few minutes ago. Are you sure you know where you are going?" I asked._

_The Just King smiled and placed his dark, mischievous eyes on me. "No, in fact, I have no clue where we are going." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_My mouth dropped open. "Then why...? You-"_

_He started laughing a genuine laugh that lit up his face. It was the happiest I had ever seen him look. Happy looked good on him, I concluded. "Be adventurous, Lina." He told me._

_I raised an eyebrow at him. "But I am not adventurous." I said flatly. I'd rather be alive and boring then dead and fun._

_He raised his eyebrow in response. "You are safe." Ed paused. "Do you trust me?"_

_I thought on it for a moment. Did I trust the serious, wise, and reserved king? Had he given me reason to? Had he given me reason not to? I sighed as my decision came to me. "Yes."_

I come out of the vision and Edmund is staring at me with a curious look on his face. He knows what has just happened and is waiting patiently to see if I will share what I have just seen which, of course, I will.

"It was a flash of us in Tashbaan, I think. We were walking around and we were lost." I paused, thinking about how dependable I thought Edmund to be when really he is kind of unpredictable and wanted me to be that way, as well. "You thought it was kind of great and I was freaking out."

Edmund nods. "Yes, I remember that day. It was when we first arrived in Calormen. We were on our way to our lodge when we got separated from the rest of the group. I pretended to know where we were going for a while but you caught on that I had no idea; that definitely scared you, all right."

I laugh. "I remember that girl. She was a gem." I say sarcastically.

"I thought so."

My eyes shoot over to meet Edmund's and I see that he is staring at me quite intently. I feel a blush rise up in my cheeks and I have to look away just as quickly.

"Well, I was kind of a push over, probably the reason that Rabadash got ahold of me in the first place." I admit.

"No, not at all, Lina, you know that." Edmund says. "By that time, you were already turning into the girl that you are now. You were strong back then…you always were. You just needed some help finding that strength."

I tilt my head to him. "And I suppose you were the one to help me find it?"

He shrugs. "I think I forced you to find it."

I throw my hands up. "Well, whatever works."

We both laugh.

"But, it's strange, I think…to look back and see us both acting so differently during that time." I say. "We were only a year younger, you know, and we have changed so much since then."

Edmund looks down at his hands, slightly embarrassed by the looks of it. "It was only a year for you but it was so much longer for me."

"Oh, yeah. I can't believe I forgot." I tell him. "You were here for a long time after I left."

He nods. "About fifteen years."

I pause when I realize that this isn't something that Edmund wants to talk about. The look in his dark eyes shows me that the memory of being ripped from Narnia after all the time as its rulers was painful to him. I decide then to change the subject to something we have never talked about before. "So what's London like now? The London you left? You're still in the middle of the war, right? That has to be tough."

"It's better than it has been." He explains. "We don't have to stay out in the country anymore…the bombings in the city are less of a concern for the government, I guess. They just want to finish the war and be done with it now."

"How long do they think that will be?" I ask.

Edmund smiles slightly. "I was hoping you could tell me."

I chuckle a little and shrug. "I don't remember much but I'm sure I can't tell you about the future, Ed…even if I could I could only give you the year anyway…I was never any good with remember dates."

"You told Lucy we won the war." Edmund said. "You knew she was so upset that father had gone away that you wanted to make her feel better so you told her that we had won…I was so mad at you for doing that."

"I bet." I laugh.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, my king," A fawn says, coming up and blocking the sun from my face. I see that he is looking at Edmund with his kind face. "But I was hoping that we could get your help with the sails."

"Of course." Edmund says, standing up without hesitation. He shoots me a smile and a small wave. "I'll see you later, Lina." The king follows the fawn and goes over to where several of the other sailors with the large main sail.

I stand up from my spot, as well, and decide to back to the room I share with Lucy and check on her. I quietly open the door, in case she is still asleep. The door opens and I peer in to see that the bed is empty. My eyebrows furrow as I push the door completely open. "Lucy?"

"Oh, Lina." I turn to see that the girl is standing in front of the mirror. She looks slightly startled.

I tilt my head, confused. "Whatcha doing, Lu?"

"I was—nothing. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You seemed a little spooked when I came in?" I say.

The girl smiles, chuckling nervously, and looks in the mirror one last time. She fixes a stray hair that has come loose from her stray ponytail. "Yeah, it's nothing. I was just being silly."

I smile slightly too but don't question her any further.

She was young and allowed to her 'silliness'; I just hope it doesn't over take her. I'm a girl, too, and I have seen it happen from time to time.

* * *

Several hours later and ahead of schedule, we are docked near our next island. Unlike the last, this island looks less volcanic and more green and luscious, like life definitely could be possible on it.

"Let's go ashore and get the lay of the land." Caspian suggests. "We shall all go and look for supplies. Plan on sleeping on the beach tonight so dress warm."

He says this and I remember last night's little slumber party on the beach; then my eyes instinctively shoot to Edmund. He's looking back at me and I have to look away, blushing again. What happened last night was not going to happen tonight, I vow to myself.

It is too complicated and it made me feel all mushy and weird inside.

"Get what we need and load the boats in half an hour's time." Caspian announces to the crew who will be going ashore, which looks to be about a dozen of them.

The men scatter to go and get their things while Lucy and I stay near the boats. Besides the clothes on our backs and the weapons given to us by Caspian, we have no possessions to our names in Narnia.

We wait anxious, ready to go exploring. Though we had only got on the ship that morning, now that we had a taste of land, it is hard to be on the sea. The time passed slowly but finally the men started coming back and we help them load their things into the long boats before they load us in and then themselves.

The next thing I know, we are headed to the huge island in the distance.

As I study it, I can't help but think it looks like that island from that ridiculous show I used to watch about those people who got in the plane crash and were deserted on an island of their own. Now that I come to think of it, there was a smoke monster thing in that show, as well...

"And what are you thinking about so intently?" Caspian asks.

I smile and shake my head to get myself back to reality. "Just dumb stuff…it's hard to explain. I'm daydream."

He nods before turning his eyes back to the horizon.

On the bench in front of us, Reepicheep, Lucy, and Eustace are sitting and talking, rather nicely actually, about the beauty of the island. They are commenting on the green trees and the tall mountains and wondering what we will find there.

"You don't think there will be any dragons, do you?" Eustace asks, with a small shake in his voice.

Everyone in the boat laughs and I can't help but feel a little bad for the boy. I rub the boy's back lightly to comfort him as Reepicheep answers his question. "Just don't put on any foreign jewelry, my friend, and you will be fine!"

Behind Caspian and I sat Edmund, working the rudder and, unlike everyone else, was looking out to see instead of towards land. What could he possibly be looking at, I wonder?

It's so strange to think that I thought I had him all figured at and here he is, keeping me guessing all the time.

He turns back then, feelings my eyes on him. The king smiles at me, a little confused. I chuckled at the fact that I have been caught looking at him and wave before turning back towards the front of the boat. Edmund turns back to the sea.

I feel Caspian nudge me on the shoulder with his own and I look over at him. The elder of the kings leans over to talk to me. "You look happy."

I smile again, realizing for the first time how many times I have done that today. "I think I am."

"Even though all of your memories haven't returned to you?"

I think back to the vision from that past that I had seen earlier today. It made me realize how different I was back then; but, as I thought, I wasn't necessarily a worse person then. I trusted people more back in those days. I trusted Edmund without question and without hesitation in that memory I had seen earlier. That was something that the old Lina had that the new one doesn't and I am working on it.

But, unlike the old me, I seek adventure. I thrive on it now. It's something I've found I need more and more of to entertain me.

Today I've learned that I need to be both the old and the new Lina to be the real me; however, I need one more thing. It is Edmund. I need Edmund.

He challenges me, forces me to step up, defend myself, and be the grown up version of myself that I want to be.

Edmund makes me the best version of Lina that I can be, regardless of whether or not I have memories of him from the past.

I sneak one last look back at the younger king and it is official.

I am falling for him.

I turn back to Caspian and nod. "Yeah, that doesn't seem so important anymore."

"Good." He says.

"Land ho!" Eustace cries out as we hit the sand bar.

I shake my head at him.

"Tip, Eustace. We all know there is land…you call it out when you spot it on the horizon at sea." Edmund explains, shaking his head, as well, and jumping into the five inches or so of water. He holds his hand out to help me from the tipsy boat.

Unlike this morning, I take it gingerly this time. "Thanks." I say.

The king nods before going over to help Lucy. I make it onto the white sand beach and see that the beach turns into grassy hills—the mountains don't start until miles inland. The island seems different than the others we have been on, more like paradise, like an island should, I guess.

"It's pretty." Lucy says.

"Yeah, really pretty." I respond.

"Excuse me, my queen, Lady Lina." We turn and see Reepicheep standing there. "Would the two of you mind setting up camp with Eustace while a party goes out to look for food and water? We are running dangerous low on water, I am afraid, and could use it as soon as possible to get back to those we left on board."

"Of course, Reep. We don't mind at all." Lucy answers. "We'll have a fire going by the time you return."

The mouse tips his hat to her and bows. "That is most gracious of you, your highness. Thank you."

"Be safe." I tell him as the rest of the crew, including Caspian and Edmund, join Reepicheep. "All of you."

The mouse bows again before walking past Lucy and I, towards the hills behind us. The crew follows and so does Caspian after a quick goodbye. Only Edmund paused in front of the two of us.

"You girls take care of yourselves while we are gone…it won't be for long." He says.

"We'll be fine, Ed. Don't worry." Lucy says.

Her brother nods then looks to me.

I shrug. "You heard her. We're fine. You go do your thing."

"All right." Edmund says. "See you both later." He looks back towards the beach. "Mind Eustace while we are gone."

Slowly, he extended his hand out towards me like he is going to comfort me in some way and then hesitates half way, his hand tensing. Then, making up his mind, Edmund reaches out and clasps my upper arm gently. Just as quickly as he had done it, he lets go and he has gone up the hill with the others.

The next instant, there is a crashing sounding behind me and I spin to see that Eustace has managed to topple the oars over in the boat while he was trying to unpack the supplies.

Wait a minute…

"Eustace, are you…helping?"

He has the most confused look on his face when I ask him this. "Wasn't I supposed to?"

I giggle at the boy then, nodding my head to him. It occurred to me then that among all the changes that occurred today, Eustace has undergone the biggest in both body and soul. Through him, it is so easy to see how Narnia changes people, how it changed me when I first came here.

He is more than he was yesterday; he's trying and I love him for it.

I go up to the boy then and wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. Eustace tenses up, dropping the blankets in his hands. I let go and see that he is staring at me with a look of frozen confusion on his face.

I just smile and pat him on the shoulder. "You are doing great, Eustace." I say before turning and going to help Lucy look for firewood.

* * *

Night was just about to and the men made it back to the camp just in time with water and some food supplies, thank Aslan.

Six of the men take a long boat and go back to the ship to give water and food to the men who are still on board, and who will still stay there for the night, while the rest of us make dinner out of what we can on the beach as well as our beds. I lay a blanket by Lucy, on the outskirts of the encampment and as far from Edmund as possible, and shortly after the men begin to go to sleep; they aren't much for staying up late considering how hard they work during the day.

Lucy is reading a book on her cot, the remaining men who are awake are talking, and I go closer to the water, away from the firelight, to look at the stars.

"Something's different about you." Edmund says as he comes to stand next to me. His eyes go up to the starry skies, as well.

_Of course he would come over, _I think to myself. _He always manages to find me during my moments of solitude. _

"Oh?" I ask, wondering if he has caught on to me.

"Yes, something has changed. I can't put my finger on it. You just seem…" He trails off and that is when I finally set him with a sidelong glance.

"Different?" I finish.

Edmund gives me a half smile and nods. The king runs a hand over his face before looking back at camp and chuckling half-heartedly, nervously. He takes a step closer to me and leans in to whisper in my ear. "Listen, Lina, I realize that I made you terriblely uncomfortable last night and I apologize whole heartedly. It was not gentlemanly, what I did, and if you—"

"Ed, don't worry about it." I tell him.

He studies me a moment like he doesn't believe. "I shouldn't have asked you to, Lina. You are a lady, you have morals and standards, and—"

"And I'm okay." I say, taking his hand in my own firmly and shaking it slight for emphasis. "Really, I think my reputation is intact, okay? But I appreciate the thought."

Edmund nods, squeezing my head tightly before letting go. "All right." He pauses again to look back at the quiet campground and the dying fire. "I think we'd better head back, get some sleep. It'll be another early morning tomorrow."

"Is there any other kind around here?" I ask with a little smile.

Edmund shakes his head and then we both fall into step next to each other on the short walk back to the camp. We are quiet as we go, letting the sound of the ocean waves be our soundtrack. Soon enough, we are right outside the little maze of sleeping bodies and we both stop.

I sigh. "Well, good night."

"Good night to you, as well."

The two of us stand awkwardly for a moment, wondering what to do next when I finally just can't take it any more. Like the huge idiot I am, I stick out my hand for him to shake. "Good night."

Edmund furrows his eyebrows but takes my hand anyway and shakes it. "Good night." He says the words slowly.

I wave at him as I walk around the men and go over to my cot next to Lucy. Between the dying fire and the moon, all I can out is Edmund's outline and can't tell if he's laughing at me…which is a good thing, I suppose.

I lay down and pray for sleep to take over me so I can forget that little embarrassment ever happened.

Sure enough, my prayer was answered and I was asleep within minutes, exhausted after a long day of changes and revelations.

* * *

I am shaken awake. No, not shaken. It's more like jolted.

Something has grabbed me around the waist and is pulling me upward into the air. I am about to cry out when an invisible force of some sort covers my mouth and I find that I can't manage it. Struggling, I try to get away but whatever has me, caught me by both my arms and legs and I cannot get free. I try to get a look at the creature but—there's nothing there.

What is going on?

I look over and see that the men are all still asleep but Lucy is also caught in and struggling against same predicament that I am, in this invisible force field thing, and was beginning to be pulled away from the camp. I was following behind her, up over the hills and into the vast valleys that the island has to offer.

Whatever these things are that have us, they are taking us away from the group.

I struggle against the arms of the creature I cannot see and cannot fight.

This isn't going to turn out very well.

* * *

**So this chapter was more of a 'setting up' kind of deal but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! Please tell me what you think and thank you so much for putting up with the long waits as well as reading now!**


	9. I Can't See You But I Know You're There

**Hey guys! I am there are not enough so's to put in front of sorry to tell you how sorry I am for this long wait. Because of school and work writing has been quite low on my list of things to get done. But finally here is a new chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoy it! **

**Here we go!**

* * *

I struggle against the force or creature—whatever it is—but can't get out of its grasp. Lucy isn't faring any better than I am as she struggles with what is covering her mouth. I look ahead at what is carrying her to see if it is giving away any hints of what it is but there isn't a shimmer or a shadow; but then I looked down and see its footprints in the dirt.

They are huge, perhaps a yard long.

So now I know that whatever has us is actually a very large something.

The creatures carry us over several more hills and down into a couple more valleys until I am completely lost, having no idea where the beach and the men are, before they finally drop us.

Lucy and I scramble to our feet and try to rush to each other but I feel something grab me by the collar of my shirt and yank me backwards, practically off of my feet. A sword is pressed against my throat and I am once more stuck in an invisible cage.

"We got you!"

"We got you."

The voices echo around us and I try to figure out how many of the creatures there are but can't really.

"Okay, you got us now what are you going to do with us?" I ask, looking up at the sword handle and the invisible monster I assume to be holding it.

"Make you do something for us."

"Make _her _do something for us."

"The little one."

"The little one."

There is a laugh and then I see Lucy stumble back a step like she has been shoved.

The girl's face wrinkles up as she looks around, trying to figure out how many of the creatures there are like I was, I'm guessing.

"What do you want me to do?" She asks, her voice very firm.

"Go into the house of the Oppressor."

"Make us visible again."

"Yeah, visible again."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why'd he make you invisible in the first place?"

There is a shuffling and a couple muffled voices in the air before one of the monsters speaks. "Well, because we are so terrifying!"

"He couldn't handle looking upon our horrifying faces!"

"If you are so terrifying why don't you just go make yourselves visible? You shouldn't need me." Lucy says, crossing her arms around her chest.

There is another pause. "We can't read."

"You had a book. You can read."

"Yeah, you can read."

The girl looks defiant. "And why would I help you?"

"Because if you don't we'll kill your friend."

The sword presses harder to my throat and wince, feeling a trickle of blood run down my neck as it pierces my skin.

"Kill your friend!"

"And the rest of them, too!"

"Yeah!"

Another laugh sounds from the gang of monsters around us.

Lucy's arms fall to her sides as she realizes that she is going to have to do what is asked of her. The girl shoots me a glance, looking confused and slightly scared. I give her a reassuring nod, telling her that I am fine and that everything will be all right.

"Fine, what do I have to do?"

"Go into the house of the Oppressor and find the spell book."

"The spell book!"

"Spell book!"

"And read the spell that makes the unseen seen."

Lucy looks around her. "Where is the house of the Oppressor?"

"Right behind you."

Just then, out of thin air—literally—a room appears in which you can see the inside of a house. It's almost like the house of this so-called Oppressor was invisible too.

Lucy peers into the room before looking back at me. I smile slightly at her.

"Good luck." I say, winking once at her.

The girl smiles back at me before taking a timid step into the room and then another. Once she is fully inside of the house, the invisible door closes again and she is gone.

It is only then that I allow myself to be nervous for her. She is now out of my sight and I cannot help…not that I could do much before but at least I could try to comfort her. Though the Oppressor didn't seem like he'd be all that bad, I'm not sure.

What if he hurts her?

What if something happens?

I can't just stand here and let myself be a captive: either I go get the others or get in to Lucy.

I look up at my invisible guard and bite at my lip fearfully. "So, since she is doing what you asked, do you think you could drop this sword from my neck…please?"

"Well…"

I hear some mumbled voices. "I suppose so."

The sword slowly drops from my neck and I step away from the creature, hoping that I won't back into another one.

So far from our time together I have gathered two things from these monsters: one was that they were, obviously invisible, and the other was that they weren't very bright. As I start to move around the valley, trying to feel around for the door that Lucy disappeared through, I hope that I am able to trick them into either letting me into the building to help her or get their eyes off me long enough to sneak away.

The first option is probably going to be the most likely considering the fact that I will never know when their eyes are on me, I suppose.

"Where is this door? It was so weird to see it appear and then disappear so quickly into nothing like that."

"Oh, it's there."

"It's there."

"Whole mansion's there."

"You just can't see it."

I pause a moment. "So, if I run into the building will I feel it?"

"Yeah, oh yeah."

I slip over toward the place I saw Lucy disappear and begin to let my head guide me, hoping I run into something sooner rather than later.

"Say, what is it that you are doing there?"

I turn around, giving, what I assume to be the group, a confused look. "Who?"

"You. What are you doing?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Here?" I point down at the ground where I am standing.

"Yes."

"Yes. What are you doing?"

I scoff. "I don't like what you are implying. How dare you be so rude."

"What?" The word echoes through the group several times before a mumbling starts amongst them.

What I was hoping to do—what that rather dumb tactic has done in the past when I have used it—was to confuse the monsters to the point that they forgot that I was even moving around, feeling for an invisible mansion in the middle of a lush green valley…now that I am saying all of these things, the entire situation sounds quite ridiculous, doesn't it?

As the creatures talk to each other, I back towards the direction of the building that Lucy entered and has yet to return from. It has been several moments now and my worry is growing every second.

Lucy is in there all by herself and it seems like no one is coming to help us.

I back up a little quicker, hoping to feel the building soon.

To my immense relief, my hand collides with something hard. I press my arm against it and then my back and I know that I am leaning against the outer wall of the mansion. I run my fingers along the rough area, thinking the building must be made of brick, and hope that I am heading in the right direction of the door. The invisible texture under my fingers changes, no longer ridged but smooth.

I keep going, slowly, looking for the handle of the door; I find it, grasp it, and am about to rip the door open when I realize that something has changed. No longer are the creatures around me talking. I turn around nonchalantly, looking in the direction that I think one of them might be.

"What are you staring at?" I ask.

"How do you know I am staring? Can you see me? Did the girl lift the curse?"

"Of course, she hasn't yet. You can't see the house yet, can ya? This one here is just being smart."

"Then what is taking the little one so long? She should have been back, right?"

They are starting to argue again. This is my chance.

I grab the handle and am about to rip the door open when I feel someone grab my wrist. "And where do you think you are going, little lady?"

The next instant, I am pushed back, tripping over my feet and falling to the ground. I see the large footprints coming over to surround me and I know that I am not getting in to Lucy now; they aren't letting me go anywhere.

I am in big trouble.

"I was just—I wanted to…"

"Yeah, I think we know what you wanted to do."

"Get away."

"Trying to escape, she was."

"The question is, what to do with her now?"

The one with the sword is coming closer and I know this really isn't a discussion about what to do with me. I'm already dead.

At least, I would have been if it hadn't been for what happened next.

"LUCY! LINA!" The voice belongs to Caspian and I know our rescue party had been sent.

I instinctively look toward the direction of the voice before glancing back at the sword, frozen before me.

"Don't you dare, girly." The beast warns, already knowing what I am planning on doing.

"Lucy? Lina!?" This time it is Edmund yelling.

I dare one more look back toward the direction that their voices are coming from and I know what I have to do. "Edmund! Caspian! We are over here!"

I am yanked off my feet by the collar of my shirt again and the sword is against my throat. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you."

"Oh, yeah? Well if you were me then you would be visible meaning we wouldn't be in this predicament at all now would we?" I finish making my point with a firm nod of my head.

The next instant I see the boys run over the hill directly in front of me. Edmund appears first, followed by Caspian. The younger of the kings lets out a sigh of relief at the sight of me but then the look turns to confusion once he realize that I am floating in midair with a sword at my neck.

Before I can say anything to explain, a spear whizzes past my right ear and whooshes over Caspian's head. More spears start flying, followed by swords appearing and I know that my invisible beasts are ready for a fight.

Edmund takes up his sword as one of the creatures comes towards him with his own and the king becomes locked in a duel with someone he couldn't even see. "What is going on here?" He shouts as he dodged a particularly nasty thrust.

"We are big, scary beasts!" One answers.

"Fear us!"

The rest of the men are now down in the valley, fighting opponents they can't see and not doing very well. How could they be expected to?

"Hey! Put her down!" I look down and see Caspian on the ground below me with his sword raised. He swings his sword around, hoping to hit a part of the monster but we keep moving around and he can't hit him.

Edmund is over by us now and raises his sword just the same as Caspian has but the way this creature moves around, swinging me around with it, they cannot hit it. The younger king purses his lips before looking up at me. Something registers in his mind before he digs around on his belt for a second. The Pevensie flashes what appears to be a dagger in its hilt before throwing it up to me. I watch as if flies through the air and wait for it to make it to my hands…but it stops in midair.

I stare at it, confused for a moment, but then I realize that it is being shook back and forth in front of my face. "Gotcha." The monster says and I know that he grabbed the dagger before I had the chance to.

I let out a huge frustrated breath.

My eyes go down to Edmund and I just shake my head, wondering how we are going to beat someone we can't see. The king shrugs his shoulders, thinking the same thing that I am, I bet.

"You can't beat us!"

"Yeah! You can't beat what you can't see!"

The taunting is starting to bother me; it reminds me of my mother when she gets into one of her moods when she likes to point out how awful my wardrobe is and how much Valentino she has in hers.

"I can still feel you, you…thing!" I say, twisting around slightly and connect my fist with some part of the beast. I'm not sure what it is but it's hard so I know I must have hit the monster.

The thing lets out a small cry and then grabs my wrist. "Hey, stop that!"

I am trying to rip my arm away when something strange begins to happen.

Fingers begin to appear around my wrist. Attached to these fingers are an arm and then a body and finally a face. I stop fighting once I see that this monster holding me isn't actually a monster at all. Actually, I have no idea what it is. All I know are the moment is that there is not one huge beast but actually four little things.

I tilt at the short man with one large foot holding me up by the collar before looking down at Caspian and Edmund. They, along with the rest of our party, look just as confused as I do.

Caspian is the first one to regain his senses and looks up at me then behind me. The elder king finds a nearby spear and pulls it out of the ground before coming up to us and putting the sharp tip to the throat of the man holding on to me. "Let her go."

The man—I can only describe him as a dwarf with one foot, I guess—gulp before dropping me. I fall the six or seven feet to the ground, landing hard on my shoulder. I scramble quickly to my feet and move away from the four men, two on top of the others, and hobble right into Edmund's arms. He catches me and holds me tightly as he studies the creatures for a second later.

"Lucy." Edmund says. "Where's Lucy?" His voice is panicked now that he looks around and realizes that she isn't in the valley with the rest of us.

I open my mouth, about to tell him, but the next instant the mansion appears before us—expansion and incredibly beautiful—before the doors open up to reveal Lucy, seemingly unharmed, and escorted by an older gentleman.

Edmund and I, followed closely by Caspian, run up to the girl and I instantly wrap my arms around her. "Luc, you're alright?"

"Yes, of course." She pauses, looking at her companion. "This isCoriakin_._ This is his island."

I look over the man in a long flowing robe and graying hair. From the way the creatures made him out to be, this man should have been looking more like an evil wizard with a wart or something but he looked more like…well, he actually looks like Carl, my concierge back in New York. Carl isn't an Oppressor and I doubt that this guy is either.

"The Oppressor!"

"The Oppressor!"

Coriakinsteps past us and walks towards the creatures. Once he does this, they all fall over each other, quite literally, trying to get way from him. They hop around on their one big foot around the valley.

"I did not oppress you." Coriakin says in a deep and authoritative voice that causes the creatures to go nuts. They hop around more to try and get away from him. "I turned you invisible for your own safety."

"Safety?"

"Safety? You didn't do this for our protection!"

"He oppressed us, he did!"

The man pulls a handful of something out of his pocket and throws it towards the one-footed men. The men cry out about a spell and then hop away over the valley before going out of sight.

"What were those things?" Lucy asks.

Coriakin turns back to us and shakes his head, annoyed at the creatures. "Dufflepuds…They are pretty harmless once you realize what they are."

"Yeah, they could cause a little harm when invisible though." Lucy answer back.

"Speaking of harm," Edmund gently takes my chin and pulls it up slightly so he could see the cut on my throat. "Are you alright?"

"If I had a dollar for every time you asked me that…" I trail off and give him a small smile. "I'm fine, Ed."

"I'm sorry you were injured, My Lady, but there is always risk when venturing out on a journey such as the one you are all on."

All of our heads turn back to Coriakin and we show our faces full of confusion. "How do you know what kind of journey we are on, sir?" Caspian asks, stepping forward to stand before the older man.

The latter gives a genuine smile. "I think it'd be best if you'd all follow me inside. I have some things to explain to you."

Just then, a scream comes from beyond the hill leading out of the valley and Eustace comes running towards us. The boy has a terrified look on his face. "Did anyone else see the dwarves with one foot? What the bloody hell kind of place is this!?"

A little chuckle escapes all of our lungs, a little louder of a laugh comes from Lucy and I, at the craziness that only Eustace can provide. The boy walks through the group of men and comes toward his cousins. "This place gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?"

"I'm afraid it is going to only get stranger, my friend." Coriakin explains.

"Stranger than one-footed dwarves, invisible mansions, boys that turn into dragons, and water that turns things into gold?" I question with a raised eyebrow.

The older man nods before taking a step towards me. "My dear girl, have you yet to encounter the mist?"

I look back at my friends and the various degrees of curiosity and fear that resided in their eyes at the mention of the sinister and unknown darkness that we knew very little about. If things are going to get stranger because of the mist then we are in for some trying times ahead of us.

I nod. "Yes, sir. We have."

The man nods, as well. Coriakin starts moving to the large double doors of his mansion, holding his arms out wide and inviting for us. "Come inside then, we have many things to discuss."

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please tell me what you thought if you feel inspired to! Hopefully the wait for the next chapter won't be so long. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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